The Phoenixes
by Hagar
Summary: 500 years into their past, and with Mushra badly injured, the three Enterrans are picked up by the last group of humans still fighting for Earth. But the presence of the Enterrans, especially Mushra, will expose some painfull secrets and change history.
1. Crash landing, part 1

_01-06-2005: This story was first uploaded to on September 2002. A few months ago I took a look at the early chapters, and was horrified by the formatting (which, due to system updates, went totally off) and the typos. Therefore, i'm now going through the entire thing and renovating. The formatting should become uniform throughout the story, and I hope to weed out as many typos as possible - I probably won't find them all, but I can try. If, while reading the story, you find a typo, do let me know via email or review (my email is on my profile page, one click away). Thanks, guys._

_The effort of this renovation project is lovingly dedicated to the steady reviewers. You know who you are.

* * *

_

**1. Crash landing**

_First Part_

_

* * *

_

Her hand fastened around the handle of her gun as she saw that the cloaked Enterran was about to attack the helicopter, but then three other Enterrans attacked him, yelling with anger, and she froze. The first Enterran threw aside his cloak, and seeing who he was she was relieved that the three interfered, preventing her from attacking him. He blew them away with some mighty strokes, burying them in debris, and jumped into the air after the helicopter.

She waited silently in the shadows until the helicopter and its pursuer disappeared in the distance. She was just about to move when the three Enterrans, now transformed, rose fast into the air chasing him. Odd. Enterrans didn't fight each other in the streets. In fact, Enterrans didn't fight each other at all.

One of the Enterrans, a man in red armor, stopped in mid-air. Then his transformation failed and he fell. He must have been injured. His friends dived for him, but she could see they'd never make it in time. She jumped on her glider and kicked up fast.

* * *

"Faster!" yelled Sago, flying with all the speed he could muster, "We're not gonna make it!" 

"Look there!" thundered Kutall's deep voice. He pointed at the half-ruined buildings. A tall figure on a glider was speeding towards Mushra. She stopped as she caught him, and then soared slowly towards them. They halted and waited.  
She was a female, a human female. She was very tall, lean and masculine, with very while skin and light hair packed behind her head. She held Mushra's childish body ever so gently.

"You attacked Mushrambo", she said. "You tried to save that helicopter. You tried to save humans"  
"Yes", answered Sago.

She shifted Mushra's head backwards so they could see the long, think wound on his neck, surrounded with thick shining liquid.  
"We call it Mushrambo's Venom", she said, "His most deadly weapon. It has horrible effects on humans"  
"And its effects on Enterrans?"

"He's never used it on an Enterran before, to the best of my knowledge, but it doesn't look too good. Your friend needs medical care, and fast. I have some friends who can help me, if you'll come with me"

Sago and Kutall exchanged looks. They were stuck 500 years into their past. They were helpless in a strange environment. The same thoughts passed through both their heads: they chose to defend the humans against the Enterrans; a human stood before them; and Mushra's breaths became thinner with every passing moment.

"We'll come with you", said Sago. "This is Kutall, and he's Mushra. I'm Sago"

"I'm Kat". She bowed her head so her chin touched a button on her vest. "Base"

"Got you", said a man's voice.

"Justin, I've got three Enterrans here who attacked Mushrambo to defend a full helicopter. One of them in unconscious, Venom poisoned"

There was a slight pause. "What's his mass?", asked Justin finally.

"Seventy K's, more or less"

"He won't survive the flight to the base. I'd better transport him here"

"Sure. Wait a second". She looked at the two Enterrans. "Did you get that?", she asked. They shook their heads. "Transportation will have him safe and sound in our bases in no time. I'll guide you to the base flying. It's going to take us at least half an hour". With a heavy heart they nodded.

"Go, Justin", she said. Mushra vanished from her arms.

"Godspeed to you all", said Justin, "because for all I know the devil might be coming for you". The button beeped.

"Ok", said Kat, "I'm going to fly as fast as I can and do every evasive maneuver I know. Fly hard. I'll slow down if you'll trail back too much. All clear?"

"Clear"

"Let's rock", she said.

* * *

She was faster than they, zigzagging her way between the ruined buildings in an immense speed, but she slowed down whenever they nearly lost her. They were glad Mushra was not with them. The flight demanding enough as-is. 

Kat landed so sharply that for a moment they didn't realize where she'd gone. They landed after her, panting. She got off her glider as calm as she was before. She touched a device on her hand and the city around them disappeared. They were inside the base. The hall was huge, filled with machinery unfamiliar to them. Kat guided them quickly to another hall. This was, again, loaded with equipment unfamiliar to them, but it was also packed with many beds. "Infirmary", said Kat. A man rose to greet them. He looked slightly younger than Kat and had a baby-face and sandy hair. As they approached him they saw that the man was sitting by Mushra's bed.

"I can keep him alive for now", said the man, "but that's all. I called on Shiera already."

"It'll do, Justin", said Kat. "These are Sago and Kutall. He's Mushra"

He shook their hands. "Glad to meet you. I'm Justin. Your friend is way beyond my medical abilities, but not beyond Shiera's"

"We're very grateful", said Kutall, bowing his head.

"Say that when he's healed", replied Justin shortly.

Kat pressed Justin's shoulder. "You stay with him", she said, "I'll take care of them. Don't complain; you must be injured under your transformation. Sit"

They were too tired to argue. They set on two separate beds and transformed back. Kat was right. Kutall's head was bleeding badly and Sago wasn't much better. She cleaned their wounds gently.

Something beeped. "Base", said a tired human voice.

Justin touched the button on his vest. "Go ahead, Jason"

"The city's doomed, but we managed to save some. The blasted demon wasn't his usual self. I think somebody messed up with him on the way"

"How's Tommy?" asked Kat.

"Ruined, but alive. I'm telling you, he's alive only because somebody messed up with Mushrambo"

"Yeah, three Enterrans", said Justin, "We have them here"

"Enterrans in the base? Are you out of your mind?" the voice on the comm rose dangerously. "Of all the stupid things in the world…"

"One of them is Venom-poisoned", interfered Kat.

Another voice, more tired, breathing, sounded on the comm.. "I trust Kat's judgment", said the voice. "How's the injured one?"

"Unconscious, but stable" said Justin.

"Save your strength, Tommy", begged Kat.

"Tell Shiera", breathed Tommy, "she's the best. We'll arrive soon". The comm beeped again – the line went off.

"I'm hungry", said Kutall.

Justin gave a huge smile. "You're so not the only one. Pizza, Kat?"

"Coming right up. Will be back in a minute", she told the Enterrans and left the room.

"Aren't you going to ask us anything?" asked Sago after a moment's silence.

"Tommy will, when they get back. He's more or less in charge"

"Where are they?"

"Back from the nearest exit point to Shinzo", said Justin.

"You know where Shinzo is?" wondered Kutall.

"We're already in you debt" said Justin, ignoring the comment. "It looks like you saved some lives already. We'll do the best for him, I promise"

"Who's this Shiera?" asked Sago.

"She's one of us. She works mainly on her own, since… but she always comes when needed. She already confirmed the call. She's a real expert on this kind of injuries."

Kay entered the infirmary, a loaded hover-tray behind her. "The pizza's ready", she informed.

Kutall breathed deeply. "My dear lady", he said, "it smells heavenly"

* * *

Justin collected the dishes when they finished. "Please let me do it", he asked Kat, "I do nothing but chat on the comm all day" 

"You don't want to go out, believe me"

"I do, but I'm dying of boredom. I'd be happy when someone else takes the duty"

"Base technical duty", explained Kat when Justin left the infirmary. "Somebody has to monitor comm and intel and take care of everything. Justin is best at it so he's doing longer duties than he should. We're all fighters, and naturally he hates the deal"

At that instance the comm beeped. "Base", said a man's voice.

"Go ahead, T.J", said Kat.

"Could you please land us? We'd rather transport straight to infirmary"

"I'll do it", interrupted Justin's voice, "Ten secs, Kat"

Kat jumped from her seat. "Ten seconds", she muttered, "come on". She hit panels, drawing first-aid trays from their hidden sheathes.

A large group of humans materialized in the room. They were all injured and bandaged. Some of then lay on hovering stretchers, and the others eased them onto the beds. Most of them ignored the Enterrans completely.

One of the women pushed a stretcher towards them. She had short black her and keen, slanted eyes. The man on the stretcher was tall and apparently asleep or unconscious. Kat rushed toward them. The man opened his eyes when she kissed him. "Hello Kat", he said. "Where are our guests?"

"Here", she answered, "Tommy, these are Sago, Kutall and Mushra. Sago, Kutall – these are Tommy and Trini"

Tommy smiled to them and waved for Trini to speak. He closed his eyes while Kat took care of him.

"Hello", said Trini.

"Hello", they answered.

"You guys attacked Mushrambo", she said, "Why the hell would you?"

"He was trying to take down a helicopter filled with people". Said Sago.

"We couldn't just stand there and let him do it", said Kutall.

"That's the first time in this war that Enterrans have helped humans. Why?"

"Yakumo", replied Kutall.

"Who is she?"

"The last human on Enterra… When we came from", said Sago.

Tommy opened his eyes. "When you came from?" he repeated, "You guys are time travelers?"

"We got into it by mistake," replied Sago quickly, before Kutall could say anything about Rusphine or what she had said to them.

"From when are you?" asked Trini.

"500 years from now", said Sago.

All the humans breathed sharply.

"500 years into the future only one human survived… How?" asked Trini.

"Her father placed her in cryogenic sleep when she was an infant, during the war", Kutall told them. "He meant her to sleep for 50 years, but there was a malfunction"

"She must have grown up in while in stasis?"

"A girl", said Kutall, "and of the more adorable I know"

"We're her friends", said Sago, "She's trying to get to Shinzo and we're helping her"

"By the name of the Guardians", whispered Tommy. "Kat, there's no reason to keep them in the infirmary, right? So why don't you assign them quarters and show them around a bit?"

"We'll be called back the minute something happens", Kat assured them, "you don't need to worry. Come"

* * *

Only when the elevator's doors closed behind them did Sago see that her eyes were wet. 

"Are you crying?" he asked.

"This war has been going on for over five years now, and it's not my first. We were holding on no that bad until the seven generals rose to power. We managed to kill some of them, but Mushrambo is beyond us. We keep trying though"

"Tough guys", said Sago.

"No, not really… We forgot how to be afraid". The elevator's doors opened. "This is the quarters level", she said. "Would you rather have separate apartments, or a multi-roomed one?"

"Multi-roomed", they replied without hesitation.

"Fine", she said. "Remember the way; try not to get lost too much". She showed them to their apartment and explained them how to open and lock the doors. "Each apartment is furnished with its own kitchen", she said, "but we usually dine together. Come, I'll show you…"

Kat's comm beeped.

"You'd better get here", said Trini, "he's waking".


	2. Crash landing, part 2

_Reloaded 01-06-2005

* * *

_

**1. Crash landing**

_Second Part_

* * *

They were transported directly to the side of Mushra's bed. Some of the humans stood around them, but they kept their distance. After a few seconds Mushra breathed deeply and opened his eyes.

"Wow!". He tried to sit. "What the…?"

"It's alright", Sago assured him. He helped him to a sitting position. "They're friends. If not for them, you'd be dead by now"

Mushra looked around, his eyes very wide. "What happened?", he asked.

"You've got a very nasty injury", Kutall informed him, "and it's contaminated by something called Mushrambo's Venom"

Trini passed Mushra a mirror, so he could see the wound on his neck. It was swollen and inflamed.

"Lucky for us Kat was around", Kutall continued, pointing at the tall human, "She brought us here"

"And where, exactly, is "here"?"

"Deep down under the city", replied Tommy. He was lying on a stretcher near by, "It's safe here"

"Mushrambo?", asked Mushra.

"Off somewhere", said Tommy darkly.

"I'll kill him", swore Mushra.

Sago and Kutall's lips cured upwards, but Justin didn't think it funny at all. "First you stay alive", he said.

"It's just a scratch!" protested Mushra.

"Contaminated by something very poisonous"

"I feel just fine", insisted Mushra, "A little dizzy, that's all"

"You still don't know out names" interfered Trini, changing the subject. "Kat you already know. These are Tommy, Justin and Jason. I'm Trini"

"And you're all on our side?", asked Mushra suspiciously.

"More rightly, you're on our side" smiled Tommy, "Enterrans trying to take on Mushrambo, by the Light!"

"Aren't there any Enterrans opposing him?", asked Mushra.

"Not anymore", said Trini.

"But it's not lost yet", said Sago enthusiastically, "Kat told us Mushrambo is your only real problem. We'll help you take him down"

"We, too, are interested in friendship between humans and Enterrans", added Kutall, "You're not alone, anymore"

Tommy's face softened. "Get well first", he said.

One off the panels chirped, and Justin check it. "Shiera's landing", he informed.

"Shiera is as good a healer as you can find", explained Kat.

"It's just a scratch!" protested Mushra again.

"Look again", said Justin.

Mushra picked up the mirror and looked. The edges of the wound have become sickly purple. He paled. "That wasn't there before"

"The Venom attacks the soul first", explained Tommy, "attempting to turn all the goodness in a person into evil. If the soul resists, the Venom turns to the Body. Death is long and painful"

Mushra bit his lips. "Sounds bad", he said, trying not to sound as flippant as possible.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?", demanded Kutall.

Kat blushed. "I didn't want to worry you so much so fast", she said, "The fact that he was unconscious seemed enough"  
"Shiera cured Venom injuries before", assured them Tommy, "Don't worry"

The infirmary door moved aside. A small human stood in the entrance. She was lean, almost thin, and seemed fragile. Her shoulders seemed hunched, as if carrying a heavy load, and her face were wrinkled with sorrow and bitterness. She seemed older than the others, but perhaps it was only her pain that made her appear so.

Than she spotted Mushra, and her eyes flashed. "Him!", she cried angrily, "How dare you bring him in here!". A knife flashed in her hand and she jumped forward.

Those of the humans who could stand tried to stop her, but she swept them to the floor. She threw Kutall at the wall with a single blow, and smashed Sago against the ceiling. All they achieved was to move her hand: the knife has hit Mushra's shoulder instead of his heart. She was standing over Mushra with yet another knife in her hand. Sago struggled to stand, but he couldn't.

"Shiera!". Tommy, pale and shaking, was clenching Shiera's shoulder. "For Karone and Melissa, Shiera! This boy…" He stumbled. Shiera caught him with surprising tenderness.

"He's not an enemy, Shiera". Tommy shook his head. "He's not an enemy…". He fainted. Shiera lifted him and put him back on his stretcher. For a few seconds she stood there with her head bowed, and than she put the knife that was in her hand back into its sheath. She turned to Mushra's bed and removed the knife from his shoulder. "We'll see", she said loudly, and then disappeared.

Sago tried to get up again but then he, too, fainted.


	3. Crash landing, part 3

_Reloaded 03/09/2005_

* * *

**1. Crash Landing**

_Part Three_

* * *

Justin's face was above his when he woke. "Good morning", he said, "You came out cheap, only a couple of broken bones, and that doesn't take more than a few hours to mend" 

"She's stronger than she looks", said Sago dryly, "I would have felt better had I crashed into a mountain. What the hell happened?"

"Shiera knew you're Enterrans", sighed Justin, "and the fact that she responded to the call proves she had no problem with that, as does the fact that you and Kutall weren't hurt more than the rest of us"

"It's personal against Mushra, is that what you're saying?", asked Sago as he pushed himself upright. Kutall was asleep in a bed to his left. Mushra was on his right, surrounded by medical equipment. The infirmary was empty except for them.

Despite the fact that Mushra has proven his courage and skill many times during the years of their friendship, Sago still felt the need to protect the boy. Unconscious, his round faced surrounded by his messy hair, he looked like a child. Sago clenched his jaws as he suppressed a sudden urge to track Shiera down and kill her.

"What could she possibly have against him?" he asked through gritted teeth. "I'd expect her to go for Kutall or for me"

"She didn't stick around long enough to explain. He's alive only thanks to Tommy, I daresay"

"With all due respect, she didn't even need to push Tommy aside. He fell on his own"

"She's got some respect for him; not much, but some". Justin growled. "As if the Venom is not enough, now he needs to fight off the magic from Shiera's blade, too"

"What kind of magic?"

"Similar to the Venom, only in the other direction"

"I don't get you", Sago admitted.

"The magic tries to extinguish all evil from the victim's soul, and if that doesn't work in an allotted time the victim dies. The death is not as ugly as the one cause by the Venom, but it's usually quicker"

"Doesn't the two poisons neutralize each other"

Justin shook his head. "Doesn't seem so". He smiled sadly. "Kat's heart is practically broken"

Sago remembered well how Kat rushed to catch the falling Mushra, the care with which she held him. His anger faded. "He fainted seconds after Mushrambo's attack", He said openly, "If not for Kat he'd be dead time times by now"

"It's not enough for Kat, it's not enough for me and it's not enough for any of us", said Justin, "There are other healers. We'll do everything we can"

Kutall turned in his sleep.

"How is he?", asked Sago.

"Woke up before you did, had half a tone of meatballs and fell asleep again. He's fine"

"Why did you say good morning before?"

"Because it's morning. You slept quite a while. What're you smiling about?"

"I just remembered something Kutall's used to say. Whenever he gets hungry he jokes how nice Yakumo would be as a pot roast, and then I have to rein Mushra from killing him. He's got a fiery temper, and he's awfully protective of Yakumo"

"What does Yakumo think of this?"

"She thinks it's hilarious"

"I quite agree"

The two men looked at each other silently for a moment, and then burst out laughing. Kutall woke.

"How good to wake with the sounds of happiness", he said, "What's funny?"

"Pot roast", answered Justin.

"It is funny, if I may say so myself", said Kutall with a grin.

The door opened. Tommy entered. He seemed mildly surprised by their good mood. "You're awake", he said, "Good. I need to talk to you. All of you. I talked to Melissa, Justin"

"And?"

"Karone should return to us any minute. Melissa is the leader of our allies", he explained to the Enterrans, "Karone's her cousin, and a force in her own right"

"You're expecting their help?" asked Kutall.

"Yes. And I need yours too. All three of you, really"

Justin's high spirit vanished immediately.

"There are 16 of us on the unit", explained Tommy, "divided into three teams: Jason's "Topaz", T.J's "Sapphire" and my "Ruby". But too many are missing at the moment. Carlos and Ashley are away. Kat, and now Triny too, aren't in proper shape. As of yesterday Shiera is not available. So I can either re-arrange the teams..."

"Bad idea", objected Justin, "They'd be too small"

"The other option requires that you stay in the base. If you do, I'm taking "Sapphire" apart and assigning T.J and Cassie to the other teams. It also requires that you two will fight, if it comes to that"

"Of course we will", said Sago.

"I'll do it", said Justin, "You owe me one, Tommy"

"I owe you a hundred by now"

The comm beeped. "Karone for you", said Triny's voice, "Patching through"

A near-by screen flashed and showed the ageless face of a woman far to beautiful to be human. Her skin was pale and perfect, her hair strung of platinum and her eyes like two oval aquamarines. The pale Milky Way of freckles across her face only added to her beauty.

"Tommy, Justin", she said, "And you must be Sago and Kutall". Her voice was clear and high, as queenly as her appearance. "Let's get straight down to business. Tommy, have someone make lists of everything you need. Melissa says to send you everything you ask for, period"

Tommy touched his comm button. "Triny, Jason, T.J, make lists of everything that might be of use and pass it through central comm". The three human confirmed and Tommy terminated the line.

"Now I want you to hear me through before you complain. Emma is sent to you, with Zhane as her bodyguard. Ashley has been released of all her duties here and she's coming home. Carlos and Melissa are still talking. She'll probably let him come. Andros got some "Blue Couriers" and he's going to fly them as fast as only he can. Now shoot me if you want to"

Tommy definitely looked like shooting somebody. He was shaking with wrath.

"Send Emma! Are you out of your mind?"

"You need her. Zhane will look after her"

"I know damn well how Zhane treats his orders", said Tommy curtly, "But that's nothing comparing to letting Carlos come. No was Melissa will allow this"

"Yes she will. First, because he has a right to return to his home planet and second, because Andros is pleading for him"

"She won't let him come, so he's risking somebody else's life?"

"It's his home world, Tommy, and he'll fight for it if he wants to. It's your choice whether to reject him or accept him"

"You of all people should know whata bad idea this is"

"Were it my decision I'd put him on that spacecraft with my blessing"

"Sending those two here at such a time is looking for trouble. You know that far better than I do"

"Consider Justice, Tommy, not Compassion", said Karone softly.

"I find that hard lately. Anything else"

"No – yes. Zhane wants to talk to you"

The screen flickered. It now showed a man, his age between Tommy and Justin. Cunning, good-natured eyes flickered under hair striped with brown and deep gold. "Tommy buddy, who're you leaving me?"

"Triny, Kat, Justin and the three Enterrans"

"Two of them are in not injured? Pass them gliders, shooting range and the basic simulator, will you?"

"Will do"

"Shall I give you back Karone, or can she get back to work?"

"We're through"

"See you today, if Andros doesn't burn the engines of those Couriers completely"

The screen went off.

Tommy breathed deeply. "Absolutely reckless", he said, "Would you two mind if somebody else will explain you things?"

They shook their heads silently.

"Than I'd pass you over to Triny. She'll be in charge, and you'd better get used to her. Absolutely reckless", he repeated in disbelief. "Let's go"

"Leaving me alone again?", asked Justin gloomily.

"Shall I send Kat?"

"She'd been here longer than I am. Don't try to cheer me up, Tommy, you suck at it. You just piss me off"

Tommy spread his arms in an apology. "Get out already", said Justin.

* * *

"Triny!" called Tommy when they reached ops. A closed sphere swirled down and landed softly at the floor of the multi-leveled hall. The wall of the sphere opened upwards, revealing Triny seated inside. "I'll take your shift", said Tommy, "Show them around, tell them the basics" 

"Anything else?"

"Zhane asked for a shooting range, the basic simulator and glider compatibility test"

"He do have good ideas at times". She got out of the command sphere. "When are they arriving?", she asked.

"Andros flying them. Blue Couriers. They'll probably arrive sometime after lunch"

She gave a long whistle. "The cargo will feel at least five of those", she said, "It's a hard fly even for him"

"Andros can fly anything when he makes up his mind to do it", Tommy assured her. He got into the sphere. It closed behind him and swirled back up.

"Grab some chairs", said Triny. She grabbed one herself and set on it, cross-legged. "On a one-to-ten scale, how confused are you"

"Twenty", replied Sago without pausing to think.

"I'm not surprised. You got 500 years back in time, landed right into a fight, your friend is badly injured and you're surrounded by complete strangers of a species you don't know. You're handling it great, so far, but I'm afraid I have to confuse you further. Hold on tight, and tell me if I'm going to fast"

She lectured to the about the structure of the base and the procedures of running it, making them repeat whatever she said until they knew it by heart. At long last she checked the time. "Three hours are enough", she said, "Let's get down to the arsenal level and start seriously"

At the arsenal level she gave them comm buttons and explained how to use them. "Welcome", she told them, "Officially". A tiny smile appeared on her lips.

"Thanks" said Kutall, with a ridiculosly curtous bow.

Her smile widened, but she didn't laugh. "The shooting range is next door", she said.

* * *

She pressed her lips upon seeing their achievements. "For guys who never held a gun you're not that bad. Keep the guns, but you're doing daily ranges. If you miss but one rage you've got a problem with me" 

"We're not kids", said Kutall.

"No, you're not", she agreed, "But you are used to one way of fighting, and I'm sure you'll practice it best if left to your own means. But the more one is used to one way of doing a thing, the harder it becomes to learning a different way. Gliders. You want that before lunch, trust me"

* * *

The gliders turned out to be oval boards, similar to the round one Mushra used for transportation but much faster and harder to control. After long, frustrating attempts Sago finally managed to stand on him, but Kutall just couldn't do it. 

"The gliders just aren't capable of handling you", said Triny, "Sorry"

"I'll do fine without them", answered the gigantic feline Enterran. "Lunch?", he asked hopefully.

"You bet"

* * *

The kitchen and gathering room were at the quarters level, and practically everybody gathered for lunch. After lunch Triny and the Enterrans went back to the arsenal level, this time for the simulator. The simulator provided them with solid holograms of enemies, which grew more numerous and hard to defeat as the simulation progressed. Breaks were few and short, and Triny strictly told them not to go hyper. "Go hyper only in real battle", she said, "never in a simulation". They grew tired quickly. 

"What's taking them so long?", wondered Triny aloud on one of the breaks. "Ops, when are they supposed to arrive?"

"Half an hour", replied an unfamiliar man's voice, "Ten minutes more or less"

"Go hit the showers", said Triny, "I'll pick you up in twenty minutes and we'll go the landing together"


	4. Crash landing, last part

_Reloaded 02-06-2005_

* * *

**1. Crash Landing**

_Last Part_

Most of the humans gathered in the hangar, all dressed in what seemed to be their uniform: gray trousers and jackets, only their shirts adding some color. They were all talking in low voices.

Justin approached the Enterrans as they entered. "Kat is with Mushra", he informed them, "and Billy is up in Ops. Andros just entered the system"

"How can they land underground?" asked Sago.

"They don't land, they transport", said Trini, "Andros will probably drop them off without bothering to stop the engines"

A voice counted down on the main comm. When the countdown reached zero, four humans and quite a large number of crates materialized on the landing. Most of the humans rushed forward to help, loading crates on hover-trays. Sago watched the four new humans with curiosity.

The first was a baby-faced woman with ladylike body language. She hugged one of the other women and than they turned together to sorting out the cargo. She waved Justin and Trini, who were still standing by the Enterrans. They waved back. "Ashley", murmured Justin.

Two tall men stood very close to each other, in a manner that suggested they were very old friends. One was Zhane, loud and energetic. He did his share of work while bossing everyone else in a good-natured way that nobody seemed to mind. He gave a huge smile when he saw the Enterrans and Sago, sensing a kindred spirit, smiled back instantly: Zhane had that aura to him.

The other man was quite different. He was the tallest of them all, with olive skin and long, black hair. His dark eyes shone with pride and anger and yet he seemed somewhat tired, almost beaten. He gave Justin an acknowledging nod, but his lined faced seemed to harden when he saw the Enterrans.

The forth seemed to be a girl, short and skinny. She was checking on some large oval objects that weren't packed. Sago caught his breathed when she turned around to face them, and heard Kutall swearing under his breath next to him. This girl could be Yakumo's sister.

The two Enterrans surveyed her extensively, doing their best to hide their bewilderment. She had a face almost identical to Yakumo's, and something of Yakumo's air of innocence. The most obvious differences between her and Yakumo were in their colors: this girl had deep brown eyes, black hair and deeply tanned skin. As she approached them, they could also see that see was definitely older - not a girl, but a young woman. Her eyes held wisdom and sorrow that seemed well above her years.

"Hi Emma", said Trini when she reached them.

"Hello", answered Emma, "Are you Sago and Kutall?"

"We are", answered Kutall. Sago bowed his head gracefully.

She shook their hands. "I'm Emma", she said, "Your friend's still unconscious?"

"Yes", answered Justin.

"What a surprise", she said dryly. "Who's helping me carry all the medical stuff tot he infirmary?"

"I moved him to a hospitalization unit at quarters", said Justin, "Infirmary is good only for an overnight"

"Fine", nodded Emma, "Two bubbles and all the crates with the med seal are going to the infirmary"

"I'll do that", said Trini.

"Not on your own, you wouldn't", objected Emma, "Kutall, would you …?"

"Of course"

"One bubble and the crates with the Ejernor seal go to the hospitalization unit. Justin, will you take care of the bubble?"

"Shouldn't I take any crates?"

"No, Sago and I will manage"

The bubbles were those large oval artifacts. They hovered lowly and so it was very easy to move them. Justin was already gone. Trini and Kutall loaded the med-sealed crates on the last hover-tray and were gone too.

Emma split the crates evenly between them, and complained when Sago redistributed them. He insisted.

"Even so you're taking too much. The pile is taller than you are"

"Don't exaggerate"

"Come on, give me another crate or at least let me take backpack". Emma was carrying an embroidered backpack that seemed full and rather heavy.

"That backpack is staying with me"

"Fine", he snatched another crate before she could say anything. "Let's go"

The hospitalization unit turned out to be a two-roomed apartment. Sago and Emma left most of the crates in the first room, where Justin has left the bubble. Emma picked two crates and motioned for Sago to take them. She still had the backpack.

Kat and Justin were sitting by Mushra's bed in the other room. It was a large room well equipped both as a bedroom and as a medical facility. Kat and Justin rose to their feet when Emma and Sago entered.

"Oh, sit", said Emma. She gently put her backpack by the bed and started unpacking the crates. One of them contained small, hermetically sealed boxes, bags and phials, which Emma carefully aligned on the shelves. The other crate contained what seemed to be distillation equipment and Emma assembled it on a large desk.

Trini and Kutall arrived. Kutall raised his eyebrows and Sago shrugged in an answer. Kutall and Trini stood silently.

Finally Emma's preparations were done. "Justin, Kat, Trini – would you please leave us?" she asked. The three humans left promptly. Emma and the Enterrans were left alone.

The smallish women smiled gently and gestured for them to sit down.

"I'm Emma", she said.


	5. Emma, part 1

_Reloaded 07/08/2005.

* * *

__I would like to thank Yakumo (the author, not the character) for helping me with a bit of catching up on episodes I missed.

* * *

_

**2. Emma**

_First Part_

_

* * *

_  
"Yes, we know", said Sago. 

"Well…", she blushed a little, "I thought we might make a more orderly introduction"

"We've been told you're a healer", said Kutall.

"Tommy didn't seem to like that fact that you were sent here", added Sago.

"He has every right to be worried", said Emma, sitting down, "I am not a fighter, and I have only a very limited ability to defend myself. Still, of all the available healers, I'm the only one who has some experience with Enterrans". She smiled at their surprise. "Not much, but some. I acquired it before the war broke up. Now, will you please tell me how you arrived here, and how was he-", she gestured at Mushra, "-injured?"

Kutall began the story. He spoke of how they came to join Yakumo's quest, and of how those who remained of the Seven Generals tried to kill Yakumo. He explained how they took some of the Generals down and collected their cards but the last, Rusphine, succeeded in delaying him and Sago while Mushra fought alone against her entire army.

"We left Yakumo with my nephews and niece", said Kutall, "She didn't want to, but it was too risky to take her: she was going about talking Rusphine into a peace agreement. Rusphine! But that's Yakumo for you"

"Mushra had gone hyper and burned down the city until we arrived", continued Sago, "He took down her entire army as well. There's not much that can stop him, once he gets going"

"So what happened?"

"Rusphine herself. She was too strong even for the three of us together. Each time we thought we had her and still she was laughing at us. Then she opened that window and we crashed into one of the alleys. Only when we saw those people boarding the helicopter did we realized what happened. Then Mushrambo tried to take down the helicopter, and we attacked him. We went hyper but it didn't help"

"Please be more specific"

"He brought down a building on us", said Kutall, "Or more correctly, at the crater he created when he blasted us. We got out and tried to chase him. That's when Mushra fell. Had Kat not been there he would have hit the ground and died instantly"

"I see", said Emma. She got up and went to the bed. She examined Mushra's injuries with sight and touch, and then got her backpack and fetched two delicate bracelets out of it. Each of the bracelets was made of fine metal work and inlaid with many, differently shaped crystals. She put each bracelet on one of her wrists and then crossed her wrists. The bracelets glowed and made a soft humming sound. Emma slowly scanned Mushra's body. The bracelets shone green above Mushra's injured shoulder, and purple above the long cut on his neck. Emma removed her hands and put the bracelets on the bedside cabinet.

"His life force is very strong", she said, "and the prospect is good on that angle"

"But?", asked Sago, "There's a "but", isn't there?"

"His force of will is greatly weekend. I'm afraid that something had hurt him even before Mushrambo. Still, he just might be strong enough"

She picked two phials and one bag from the shelves. She put a carefully measured amount of powder from the bag in a small cup. "This", she said, "Will cleanse the wounds. This", she added a fair amount from one of the phials, "should help slow down the poisoning. But this", she showed them the second phial, "is the most important component: it should awaken his will". She added a few droplets. She bathed some compresses in the solution and put them on the wounds. Mushra's breath changed and he moved. Emma patted his healthy shoulder and he relaxed again.

She turned to Sago and Kutall. "You have no reason to stay here", she told them, "I'll take good care of him. You should go find Zhane, if you ask me"

"Wasn't Triny left in command?", inquired Kutall.

"Zhane doesn't really care about the chain of command. He'll probably let her organize the daily life as it bores him, but he'll be taking care of everything that has to do with preparing for a possible battle"

"Where can we find him?"

"Go to Ops. There's always someone there"

* * *

Justin was at ops, with one of the men who just arrived: the dark eyed one. 

"What's up?" asked Justin.

"Emma sent us to Zhane"

"I'm afraid I'm not Zhane", said the dark-eyed man, "He is probably at the weapon workshops"

"Light or heavy, Carlos?", asked Justin.

"Light"

"Take the orange elevator to the arsenal level", Justin instructed them, "and turn left. You should look for yellow-striped doors. Or you can follow the mess and the noise; that's always a good advice when looking for Zhane"

"Don't exaggerate", said Carlos quietly, "He's one of the best, and you know it"

"He's also a full-time trouble maker, but you're right. Don't quote me, ok?", Justin asked the enterrans with a worried look.

"We won't", promised Kutall. Sago crossed his fingers behind his back and agreed.

* * *

"That's one strange fellow, and no mistake", said Kutall once they were inside the elevator. 

"That Carlos? I agree. But tell me, have you seen how much…"

The elevator door opened. They could hear very clear swearing from the corridor to their left.

Zhane was, indeed, in a room with doors striped with yellow. He was sorting out a huge pile of crates, swearing with all his might. The enterrans knocked on the door hesitantly. He turned around immediately and gave them a huge friendly grin.

"Hello!", he said, "You're Sago and Kutall, right?". He shook their hands with enthusiasm. "I'm Zhane, and you probably already know that. Do I despise unpacking or what, so i'm really glad to see you guys as it gives me an escape route". He grinned. "I bet you heard quite a lot about what a lazy pain-in-the-ass I am, and now you think that everything you heard is true, don't you?"

"No", said Kutall.

"Yes", admitted Sago, "But I like you"

Zhane landed a heavy hand on Sago's back. "My kind of guy", he said. He tapped his comm button. "Ops? Will you send someone down here to unpack the light weaponry?"

Justin and Carlos begun answering together, then Carlos's voice said: "Wait a sec". After about half a minute of silence Justin spoke: "Kat is interested, but Triny and Carlos agree as well"

"Let it be Carlos than", answered Zhane, "At least I can be sure everything will be in its proper place"

"You owe me", grunted Carlos. The line was terminated.

"Did Tommy put you through the tests I asked?"

"Triny did"

Zhane patted his comm button again. "Triny? Where are their files?"

"In the simulators directory, where they're supposed to be"

Zhane nodded to himself while reading the files. "Not too bad", He said, "I hope we won't have to fight, but the odds are low. So we'll prepare those Enterrans out there a surprise".A quick smile crossed his face. "After all, all we have to do here is sleep, eat and practice our combat skills till we've gone mad. The computer has already built you a training program"

"What about the gliders?", asked Sago hopefully.

"I'm not going to let the computer train you on them. It'll take too much time. I'll do it myself. And you", he turned to Kutall, "will not lazy around while your friends is tearing his ass. I'm putting you up on technical duty, so I hope you have good technical skill"

"I don't know about technical skill", said Kutall, "But I have excellent cooking skills"

"Are you serious? You can actually cook? Bliss and joy! Justin and Triny can burn water, and Kat and Carlos are almost as bad"

It was in that instance that Carlos entered the room. "Didn't you ask for replacement?", he inquired, "You're still here"

"Not for long. Kutall, help Carlos sort this mess, will ya? Sago and I are going to the gliders sim"

He got Sago and himself out of the room before anybody could say anything. Carlos and Kutall were left alone, glaring at each other.


	6. Emma, part 2

_Reloaded 10/08/2005_

* * *

**2. Emma**

_Second Part_

* * *

"This is what we have to do", said Carlos after a long silence. "Those crates contain weapons, ammo and the rest of the stuff that goes with weapons. We need to unpack everything, check that it survived Andros's suicidal flying and put it in place. I'll check the equipment, you'll put it where it belongs". He quickly explained Kutall how to read the codes on the crates. "Zhane already checked this pile here. Get going" 

They set to work. Kutall tried to be as silent as he could. Carlos's eyes darkened whenever they fell on the large Enterran, and Kutall had the uneasy feeling that the human would love to get rid of his presence. The silence strategy worked though, and soon Carlos ignored him completely.

The human was a warrior by his appearance: heavy shoulders above a lean waist, his movement fast and flowing. Yet his face was deeply lined and he had many white hairs among the black ones. Kutall sensed that it was grief, and not age, that made him so, for he had the face of one which cried much and laughed only a little.

There was a light knock on the open door. Tommy entered. "Can I have you for a moment?", he asked Carlos, and the two men left to the corridor and closed the door behind them. They spoke quietly but Kutall was a feline Enterran, and the meaning of that was good hearing. He left the crates and listened hard.

"Look, Carlos, I know you want out of here…"

"I know you didn't want me to come"

"That's not what I wanted to say…"

"You shouldn't hide it. I would have felt the same in your position. As a token of my understanding, I'm willing to stay at the base. Save your breath"

Carlosseemed to have caught Tommy by surprise, because it was a minute before his voice came, inquiring: "Why?"

"Go and leave Emma? I'm not nuts"

"I understand Melissa chose her herself"

"Emma volunteered". Silence again. "Zhane was quick to jump on the train, even if it's as Emma's bodyguard"

One of the men sighed, but Kutall couldn't tell which.

"Is that all the reason you're staying?", asked Tommy. He sounded disappointed but strangely hopeful.

"What do you expect of me?" asked Carlos curtly, and them softened his voice: "No, that's not all. I need hope, Tommy, I need it badly. I don't think I'm going to find it with my ax in my hands. This is the only place where I might find it"

"Despite the fact…"

"The two things coexist"

A longer silence. Finally Tommy spoke. " "Ruby" are leaving now. "Topaz" should leave in two hours, but they can be delayed to the evening if you want"

"It's ok"

One last pause, and then footsteps echoing away in the corridor. Kutall hurried back to work.

Carlos came in and looked at the still-too-high mound of crates. "We should work faster", he said, "or we can forget about supper"

* * *

Zhane brought up a simulation of an endless lawn and two gliders. "The tricky thing about gliding", he said, "Is that the elements of proper technique are much harder than they seem. For example, gliding in a straight line is nearly impossible. That's why most teaching methods spend months on the basics. We, however, don't have much time, and this is why I'm going to teach you in the "Bone Crasher" method: the idea is that if you'll break a bone whenever you make a mistake you won't repeat your errors." 

"It can't be that hard"

"Oh really?", said Zhane sarcastically, "We'll see about that. Now get on that glider". Zhane jumped on one himself. "First, don't bend your knees. That's better. No, don't you ever lock them! Not even when you're gliding long distances. That's a very dangerous mistake to make. Keep your feet perpendicular to each other and at a reasonable distance or you'll fall off as soon as you accelerate. Your hands should go with your feet. That's better. When you want to accelerate lean forward, but be very careful when you break. Even the slightest shift of weight will trigger a slowdown. I'm going to glide slowly now. Try to stick with me"

Zhane glided in a moderate pace. Sago leaned very slightly forward and his glider speeded at a terrific speed. He shifted as little of his weight as he could backwards and the glider halted so suddenly he nearly fell.

"Not bad", Zhane glided to his side, "I was sure you'll fall"

"I almost did. This thing is sensitive"

"You'll come to appreciate it after you've glided you first battle. Let's do it again"

* * *

A sudden beep in the middle of a sequence made Sago break too suddenly. Zhane answered the comm. "Yes?", He asked. 

"Dinner in half an hour", came Triny's voice, "And Kutall is asking how's Sago"

"Alive", said Zhane.

"Nothing broken yet", added Sago.

"With Zhane teaching you? You're getting soft, Zhane". She terminated the line.

"So that must be it for today", said Zhane, "We'll have our training sessions in the mornings, first thing after breakfast. Nothing like a morning glide to wake you up in the morning. Now go get yourself the hottest shower you can stand or you won't be able to stand tomorrow"

* * *

There were still ten minutes to go when Sago finished his shower, and so he decided to check on Mushra. 

Emma was sitting by the bedside, grinding fine powder. "He hasn't woken yet, as you can see", she said, "but he's better"

"He's in no mortal danger?"

"I wouldn't say that just yet. He's still not stabilized"

"When will he be?"

"In a few days"

"When will he wake up?"

"A few more days". She got up and went to her distillery. She added a tinge of the powder to a transparent liquid in a bicker over a small fire, and the liquid turned orange. When the color disappeared, after a few seconds, she added another tinge.

"Are you going to add all that powder?" he asked, "Because you'll be late for dinner"

"I won't", she answered, "Stay and you'll see"

Indeed, the orange color disappeared faster each time, and at some point Emma simply poured the powder in slowly. She held the bicker to her eyes. Sago approached so he could see better. Suddenly a thin blue coating formed on the surface of the liquid. Emma put the bicker in a centrifuge. "Still a full minute to go", she said.

* * *

Zhane, Justin and Kat already sat around the table when Sago and Emma came in. Kutall was stirring a pot in the kitchen. "I'm afraid most of the food is cold", he said, "But I made some tomato soup" 

"I'm hungry enough to eat ice," said Sago. Kutall looked hurt so Sago added: "And the soup smells delicious". He sat. "Who are we waiting for?"

"Triny and Carlos", said Kat, "The others left already"

Triny came in as soon as Kat finished her sentence. "How was your practice?" she asked Sago, "How bad are the bruises?"

"Not very", he said, "And I only got a few of them"

"Really?", wondered Justin, "Are you feeling alright, Zhane?"

"Yeah. He's good"

"Where's Carlos?", asked Sago.

"Probably finishing with those crates", said Kutall, "He still had a fair pile when he sent me here"

"I'm hungry", said Justin, "Can't a couple of crates wait for tomorrow?"

"You know Carlos", Triny shook her head, "He'll finish every task, no matter how boring it is"

"Some folks are weird", said Zhane.

Kutall put the pot on the table. "The soup's ready", he declared.

The elevator door opened and Carlos came out of it. "I see that my timing is just right", he said.

They wolfed down the food. "Who's for putting Kutall on permanent kitchen duty?", asked Justin in a full mouth. All hands, including Kutall's, were raised.

"Are you sure about this?" Kat asked him.

"I would have been hurt if you didn't want me to be your chef", he answered.

"While we're speaking of duties", said Triny, "Let's fix the schedule"

"Sago and I are gliding the first half on the first shift", said Zhane immediately, "This includes shooting range. And I want Kutall to get proper technical training"

"Here's my offer: Kutall will do daily first shift. Carlos and I will alternate. Zhane and Justin are doing second shift together and Kat will have the third. She will alternate with Justin when she's had enough. Sago will do the second half of the first shift and the first half of the second. Oh, one more thing", she added, giving them a stern look, "If I catch any of you outside your quarters after lights-out, that person will do night shifts until he will learn to appreciate his sleeping hours"

* * *

"What a day" said Sago as he crashed unto the sofa at their apartment. 

"I agree very much", said Kutall, "At least you didn't spend your afternoon with an Enterrans-hostile human"

"Carlos hates Enterrans?"

Kutall told him of the conversation he overheard. "What do you make of it?", he asked.

"Two things are obvious: the first is that Carlos and Emma share some bond. The other is that Carlos is more reluctant about bringing us in then the others are. Say, did you see just how much Emma looks like Yakumo?"

"I did", said Kutall, "It sent shivers down my spine"

"They just have to be related. But none of the humans seemed to recognized Yakumo's name. You know what I think?"

"What?"

"Yakumo isn't born yet"

"But Rusphine said – "

"You can kill a person before they're born", said Sago darkly, "Emma is too old to have a baby sister, but she's just the right age to become a mother"

"This is crazy, but it makes some sort of sense"

"Can we continue this tomorrow?", yawned Sago.

"I'm getting up before you are, if it makes you feel better"

"Not really. You're not starting your day with a person who is openly determined to break your bones"


	7. Emma, last part

_Reloaded 10/08/2005_

* * *

**2. Emma**

_Last part_

* * *

Justin was already at the table when Sago came in. "Good morning", he said with his mouth full, "Kutall made pancakes. He and Triny started their shift already. Carlos and Kat just left. He's starting his day, she finished hers. Emma took breakfast and vanished back to the med unit. Zhane hasn't woken yet, or there wouldn't be any pancakes left"

Sago loaded his plate. "Hey, they're good!". He said after taking a bite.

"Dpn't you know your own buddy's cooking?" asked Justin quizzically.

"I know his field cooking. Ever tried making pancakes over a camp fire?"

"No. Than again, I burned the kitchen the one time I tried to make pancakes at all"

Zhane came in. "Don't stuff yourself", he advised Sago.

Sago looked at the amount of pancakes Zhane moved to his plate. "Look who's talking", he answered.

"I'm not the rookie"

* * *

Twenty minutes into the training session Zhane seemed positively surprised. "You're the first rookie I know who manages to keep his breakfast where it belongs", he said, "You were born to glide"

"I don't feel extra talented"

"Trust me, you are. C'mon, let's see if you can talk and glide simultaneously"

* * *

"My hands aren't fit for this", said Kutall

"Crap with no sauce", fired Triny, "If you can cook you can print. Give me that status report"

Kutall sighed and typed a few commands hesitantly. To his great surprise, the data rolled on the screen. "It's kind of like making a souffle", he said, "You try and fail a thousand times, and just when you're ready to give up you make it"

"If making a souffle was so simple I would have been a chef"

"If working out those panels was so simple I would have reached your level in a week"

"Don't exaggerate. I'm in the world-saving business for half my life -since I was sixteen"

"Not a short time"

"Not such a long one either"

The second report rolled on.

"Batch the thing", said Triny.

"Must I?"

"No, but there are lots status reports to print, and if you don't batch them you'll miss the coffee break"

"There's a coffee break?"

"There're cookies"

* * *

"Congratulations!", cried Zhane, "That's what I call a fall!"

"Don't be so happy. Nothing even sprained"

"I would have said that it's due to my excellent teaching skills…"

"Yeah right", mutteredSago.

"…but it's much more likely that you're damn lucky"

"I'm also damn thirsty"

There was a large container just outside the simulator. It contained a transparent, salty-sweet fluid, which was surprisingly tasty. After a few glassfulls, Sago asked what it was.

"Physo-Pro. Almost everything your body needs. There's a container outside every training facility". He re-filled their glasses. "That's what we've got till lunch"

* * *

"About time", said Sago when we walked into ops halfway into the morning shift, "I'm more bruised than I was when we got here"

"Not a bit surprised", said Triny, "How are you doing in there, Kutall?"

There was a loud noise of body against metal and Kutall popped out of a service tunnel, his cheek cut. "I'm beginning to figure this out", he said, "but it's cramped in there"

"Are you done with section five yet?"

"Will be in a minute"

"Fine. Get yourself a coffee, Sago, and let's get started"

* * *

The door beeped. "Come in", said Emma.

Kutall came in, carrying a large covered tray and a cold box. "I thought you might want company for lunch"

"That's so sweet of you. Oh, you brought three plates. Is Sago coming too?"

"He'll be here soon enough. You can start eating though. I have a feeling you ate nothing since breakfast"

"I had some granola at maybe ten o'clock, but I really was busy most of the morning. The medications I use have to be fresh"

"My point exactly". He handed her a full bowl and took one himself.

"How did you get along with Triny?" asked Emma after a while, "She can be stern at times"

"She has a golden heart underneath a steely appearance. She's having a harder time with Sago. I think she's trying to re-educate him. Educating my six-years-old nephews and niece is almost impossible and I should think that re-educating Sago would be even harder"

"I used to be an aunti myself", said Emma after a very long pause, "And I'll testify that uncles and aunts are worse educators than grandparents"

"My sister used to agree with you, but her husband handed the kittens to me when she died"

"How did she die?"

"She died shortly after giving birth to her daughter, Estee"

"I'm sorry"

"It's alright". He waited a moment, then asked: "You said you _used_ to be an aunt?"

"My niece was killed"

"I'm sorry"

"It's war: people die, even kids". She shrugged. "Sometimes i'm glad I don't have kids yet"

"You'll have kids one day, when the war is over. You still have time, don't you?"

"Yes, i'm just 22. There's still time", she said, but still she looked distant and said. Kutall was at a loss, but was saved by Sago's timely appearance.

"I'm starved", said Sago, crashing down on a chair. Kutall handed him a full bowl. "How's Mushra?" asked Sago between mouthfuls of chicken and rice.

"Getting better. He might stabilize by the end of the day, but between Mushrambo and Shiera I won't swear over it"

Sago noticed that her voice quivered slightly when she mentioned Shiera. "She didn't attack him because he's Enterran", he said, "Kutall and I weren't harmed more than you lot. What could she possibly have against him?"

"Even those closest to her don't always understand her motives. She's seldom understood and seldom wrong"

"She was wrong about Mushra", said Kutall.

"Or perhaps you think otherwise?" asked Sago, his eyes narrowing.

Emma was silent for a long moment, but when she answered her voice was decisive and strong. "I'm a healer. He's injured and he needs my help. I will not make judgment before he's well"

"And not as a healer – what do you think?", questioned Sago.

"Not as a healer?", repeated Emma, "I don't want to think not as a healer. His face is innocent. I'd like to believe him innocent, too"

"And what _do_ you believe?" asked Kutall.

Emma didn't answer.

_They're not that similar_, thought Sago. _Emma is no child, and her strength isn't buried so deeply_.

"Let it go, Kutall", he said, "She'll take good care of him. Let's talk of other stuff"

They ate more than talked. Finally Emma checked her watch. "As much as I enjoy you company, there's still half the break to go and I…"

"Need to get back to work", finished Kutall, loading everything back to the tray, "Will you help me with the dishes, Sago?"

* * *

Sago checked the kitchen cupboards while Kutall put the dishes in the washer. "What are you looking for?". He asked finally.

"A drink"

"Check the refrigerator"

"Not that kind of a drink"

"You're not going to find any. I asked Kat for some cognac for the sauce, and she said that all the alcoholic drinks are locked somewhere"

"Where?"

"Ask Triny. She wouldn't tell me though"

"I wonder…" thought Sago loudly.

"Sago", interrupted Kutall.

"Yes?"

"Before, when we were interrogating Emma. Why did you cut it off?"

"Noticed how her voice quivered when she mention Shiera's name?"

"No"

"I thought that interrogating her might reveal something interesting, but than I realized that direct questioning won't get us anywhere. The similarity between her and Yakumo is misleading. Emma is much more sophisticated"

"She's not that much older, though. Barely over 20"

"When did you discover that?"

"Before you came in. I also learned that she doesn't have kids, but she has a sister, probably older than her, who has one child who was killed in the war"

"If she doesn't have a boyfriend or a husband we're back to square one. Unless – the sister?"

"Worth checking"

"Later though. I'm dying for a shower. Want to meet at the second half of the shift in the simulators?"

"I actually intended to go the simulators on the first half, and make dinner on the second"

"See you at dinner than"

* * *

"Justin is lengthening his break", said Zhane when Sago came into ops, "Sure as hell deserves it. He's in here three time longer than he should"

"So why is he still here?"

"Officially, Tommy wants him on intel. Unofficially, Tommy is still acting like Justin is eleven. There's seven years between them, and Tommy is very protective"

"Not discussing my age, are you?", asked Justin who just came in, "This is so unfair. Emma is younger than I am, and nobody's speaking of her age. Get your feet of the panel and load the satellites data, Zhane"

"I can work the panel with my feet", said Zhane enthusiastically, "Wanna see?"

"Everyone knows your mamma was an ape, it's no secret"

"Party killer", blamed Zhane. He slid on his chair to a different panel and set to work. "Want to know what Ryuma had for breakfast, Justin?"

"Some other time, maybe"

"How about you, Sago?"

"Only if it was his last meal"

"That's the spirit! You know what a satellite is?"

"No"

"What did Triny let you do for half a shift? Clean the floor with a toothbrush?"

"Whatever is was, I bet you she left an orderly record", said Justin.

"Where?"

"Where shift records are supposed to be". He got into the command sphere. "Will you manage?"

"We'll interrupt you if not"

"Had a feeling you'll say that". He closed the bubble and it spiraled upwards.

"Let's learn some geography", said Zhane, "Or you'll make nothing of the satellite data"

* * *

Kutall hummed to himself while cooking. He covered the large dough ball and put it somewhere warm, where it would swell. Nothing like the smell of fresh yeast dough. He checked on the cookies. Ready. Where's that box? He opened the oven, pulled the tray out and put in another batch.

Carlos came in, smeared with grease. He halted. "I forgot you're here", he said, "I didn't want to interrupt"

"Nonsense. The cookies are still too hot, though"

"I'm not hungry"

"There's always room for a little snack". He poured a ladleful of sauce into a plate and added some potatoes and slices of beef. "There you go. Do you think that the roast is too hot?"

"I don't think it's hot at all"

"I can't stand spicy food, so I usually don't make it spicy enough. My only drawback as a chef, if I may say so myself"

"I suppose it's better than the other way around. Adding pepper to one's plate is easy enough"

"Oh no! The food must cook with all the spices or it won't blend properly!"

"I'm not going to mess with your dished, relax"

"You'd better", growled Kutall, "Not hungry, eh?". Carlos's plate was shining.

"I suppose I didn't notice", chuckled Carlos, "What about those cookies? The smell is driving me nuts"

"I think they chilled enough". Kutall arranged two small plates. He handed one to Carlos and packed the other in a hit-saving coating.  
"Who's that for?"

"I thought I might pamper Emma with some cookies and coffee"

"She doesn't like coffee". Carlos got up and surveyed the shelves. "There you go: her favorite herb tee. No sugar and no milk"

"Thank you"

"She deserves to be pampered". He headed out of the kitchen.

"Wait a minute", said Kutall. He quickly sliced some bread and packed it with some salad and cheese. "There you go"

"Thanks. Hi, the bread is fresh!"

"What did you expect?", asked Kutall proudly.

"You're nuts", said Carlos, "But in a good way"

* * *

Emma seemed somewhat surprised when Kutall came in. "Nothing's changed in the last hours", she said.

"The cookies are fresh", said Kutall, "And I brought you some tea, too"

"How did you know which one is my favorite?"

"Carlos told me"

"Did he?". Kutall couldn't possible fathom her expression. "You get along well?"

"I take him as the proof that humans and Enterrans can settle their differences"

Emma's brows shot upwards.

"It seems that the best way to befriend members of both species is over a good meal", explained Kutall.

"I'd say that proves that the two species are similar, and that's not good considering humans tried to kill each other for most of our history"

"But you got along in the end, right?"

"Yes. Than the meteor landed"

She seemed grieving, and Kutall hurriedly changed the subject.

"How's he doing?"

"Getting better, but I told you nothing changed for the last hours"

"How long will he remain unconscious?"

"I'm not sure. There's something about him I don't understand"

"What is it?"

"I don't understand it, right?"

"But he will heal, right?"

"He still has much strength left"

Kutall didn't ask any further. "I need to tidy up the kitchen", he said finally.

"The less-nice part of cooking"

"I'm quite glad I have a kitchen to tidy. I cooked on nothing but camp fires ever since I joined Yakumo's quest to Shinzo"

"Shinzo?"

"You're familiar with the name?"

"It's a name from a legend"

"Justin mentioned an exit base to Shinzo"

"The name is used in military codes. Shinzo itself is nothing but a myth though"

* * *

"That's what she said?" Sago shook his head, "I wouldn't believe her quite so fast"

"She's full of mystery", admitted Kutall.

"And this Carlos-Emma thing"

"Perhaps they're just old friends"

"All those humans are old friends"

"I'll stick with my idea, unless you have a better one"

"I don't. I'll work on Emma"

"She's a tricky one"

"That's not what I meant. She's… She's all gaps. I want to get to know her better"

"Very interesting", yawned Kutall.

"I'm tired too", said Sago, "But with all I have to think about I don't know if I'll even fall asleep"

* * *

Someone was covering her with a blanket. Emma half-opened her eyes. "Sago?", she asked numbly.

"Get back to sleep", he told her.

"I don't remember getting to the couch", she said, "Did you put me here?"

"Yes. Did you fall asleep by the distillery last night as well?"

"No", she yawned, "He passed the crisis tonight"

"When did you fall asleep"

"Two, maybe three. I'm not sure. What time is it, anyway?'

"Quarter past five"

"What are you doing up?"

"Woke up with Kutall. You really do need to get back to sleep"

"I can't. I woke up already"

"Maybe I shouldn't have moved you"

"You did right. My neck is stiff enough"

He made up his mind. "Get a shower", he said, "I'm bringing you breakfast to bed"

"Sago…"

"No buts"

"Did you say anything about Mushra having a crisis?" he asked as they sat around muffins and tea.

"Yes. He had very high temperature. He was calling to Yakumo, telling her he was sorry"

"What for?"

"I was hoping you'll tell me. I have to admit I'm much calmer now that he's had a crisis. Fever is a classical Venom symptom. It means Mushra is fighting the poisoning"

"You don't look calmer"

"It took hours. He gave me quite a worry"

"Pity you don't drink coffee"

"I have to keep my hands stable, so I can't drink coffee. I suppose that's why I consume too much cinnamon"

"Cinnamon wakes you up?"

"For some people, it's better than coffee"

"I didn't know that"

"Some healers use spices as their sole medications"

"And it works?"

"For certain problems". She massaged her neck.

"Is it still stiff?", he asked.

"A little"

"Will you let me check it?"

"It's ok, really"

"Really really?"

"Oh well… You're not going to let it pass, won't you?". She moved her hair aside. He set next to her on the couch.

Her muscles were smooth and flexible, and they responded to his light touch, but he could feel how brittle and thin her bones were. _Has she suffered a major childhood illness?_ He wondered.

"Try now" he said after a few moment.

She moved her shoulders tentatively. "Much better", she said.

He got up. "I'll make some more tea for you, and then I have to go to the gliding simulator"

"Have fun", she said. "Oh, and Sago…", she added when he was by the door, "Thanks"


	8. Crisis, part 1

_Reloaded 21/08/2005_

* * *

**3. Crisis**

_First Part_

_

* * *

_  
"Kat left us a message", notified Kutall, "Something about Seismic Waves" 

"Really?" frowned Carlos. He brought up the message on his screen. "I was wondering when they'll think of that. The Enterrans out there", he explained, "They know that we have a base in this area and they're looking for us. They've been running aerial scans for the last couple of months, and now they gave up on the idea"

"So what are Seismic Waves?"

"Shock waves running through the ground. The base will give a distinct echo they can locate. I can array our shields to compensate for that"

"Through the earth, you say?"

"Why, you've got an idea?"

"I think I do"

* * *

"There you go", said Carlos, pulling himself outside the service tunnel, "You've got earth here" 

"I can feel it", answered Kutall. He kneeled down and pressed his palms to the ground.

"You really think it'll work?"

"Better than your shields. Any Enterran with but the slightest earth affinity will be able to break through that. It would take an Enterran with skill that equals mine, to the list, in order to realize that the earth itself is lying for us"

"What are the chances of this happening?"

"Not very high"

"But it's possible"

"This is still the better idea"

"Roger that. Are you done yet?"

"Patience"

"Sorry"

"There we are", said Kutall after a few moments, "We're safe"

"For now", added Carlos darkly.

* * *

"Copy that, Carlos", said Zhane, "My compliments to Kutall. Now let us go back to the training session, ok?". He was answered only by the off-line beep. "Alright, Sago. Let's go over it again" 

For their fourth morning session, Zhane came up with a new scheme. The endless lawn was gone. Instead, he brought up the simulation of an obstacle course, complete with narrow paths, firetraps, falling anvils, flying blades and other dangers. Halfway into the daily session Sago managed to get only through a third of the track. He got more bruises and cuts than he got in the rest of the sessions put together.

"May we have a break?"

"I want you through half of the track by the end of the session"

Sago sighed. "Do you know where I can find something stronger than Physo-Pro?" he asked hopefully.

"I do", answered Zhane, his eyes twinkling, "But I want to see you through the track first"

"It would take me a week!"

"Two days"

"No way in hell"

"When Triny catches us – and I betcha she will – you'll want to glide very, very fast"

"Gliding in the corridors?"

"Next thing after the obstacle track"

"Gotcha"

Zhane gave him a mighty clap on his back. "What took you so long?"

* * *

"Infirmary, now" stated Carlos as Sago entered Ops. 

"You look something awful", said Kutall, "What happened?"

"Obstacle course", replied Sago shortly.

"Zhane should have taken you to the infirmary right away", said Carlos.

"We pulled the session as long as we could"

"That's no excuse. You could have told me you'll be late". He got up from his chair. "Your Ops, Kutall. Lunch on me today, while we're at it: Zhane, chopped and fried". He frowned. "Are you still here, Sago? Get to that infirmary before I chop and fry you as well"

* * *

"What are you giving me that look for?", asked Carlos as he attended one of the nastier cuts, "Am I hurting you?" 

"That was almost a joke", said Sago.

It Carlos a moment to realize what Sago was talking about. "Serving Zhane for lunch? I really am going to kick his ass"

"Triny has a better sense of humor than you"

Carlos winced. "Now that hurts", he said, "She used to have a great sense of humor. Mine always sucked"

"So what happened?"

"We grew old"

"You're not old"

"Don't lie to me"

"Well… Triny's not old, and you can't be much older than she is"

"Four years younger, actually"

"What happened?"

"I told you I grew old. I was pretty young when I got into the business of fighting evil. It wears you out after enough time passed"

"You're more worn out than the others"

"I have my reasons. Now shut up"

* * *

That day Emma joined them for lunch for the first time. 

"Is he up yet?" asked Kutall hopefully.

"Of course not", answered Emma, "For one thing I would have told you, and for another I wouldn't leave him alone"

"So when will he wake up?"

He and Sago asked that question countless times over the last days, and so far Emma's patience was still holding.

"Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. Wait for the crisis than add a couple of hours"

"Must there be a crisis?" complained Sago.

"Yes" replied Emma firmly.

"Oh, let her eat", said Kat, "And pass me the fried potatoes, won't you?"

"Speaking of frying", said Carlos, "I was going to fry you, Zhane"

"What did I do?" asked Zhane automatically.

"Sago was injured when he arrived on his shift today"

"I'm training him, not you"

"I wasn't talking about that. He can speak, he'll complain if you'll push him too far"

"So what's bugging you?"

"You should have taken him to infirmary, that's what's bugging me. Great idea, sending someone to ops duty when they have a concussion!"

"He did not have a concussion!"

"Well you didn't even check!"

All the other humans ignored the quarrel, and the two Enterrans followed suit.

"Alright, this is enough", said Triny after nearly twenty minutes of it.

The two men fell silent and glared at her.

"Zhane, Carlos is right. You're far too easy on violating protocol. I'm not going to try and kick you off this habit, but at least pick protocols which are less dangerous to break. As for you,", Triny frowned at Carlos, "leash out like that just one more time and I'll call Melissa. You know full well what she's going to say and do so watch your temper. If you can't control it than you shouldn't be here"

"By what right?"

"I have been appointed the commander of this base and its staff. It is my right and duty to…"

"Spare me the bullshit", said Carlos quietly, "You have no right to judge me. If you're trying to force your authority than Tommy shouldn't have given it to you in the first place"

"You're welcome to contact him at any time if you think I'm incapable of fulfilling my duties. You know what the repercussion might be"

"Yes, I do", he got up, "Better than you". He turned and left the room.

"Don't", said Emma as Triny pushed back her chair and meant to go after him.

"We can't leave him like that"

"Kat will go"

"No, I will". Zhane got up. "And nobody try to stop me". He left quickly.

"Close those mouths", said Triny a little to sharply to Sago and Kutall, "There's nothing to gape at"


	9. Crisis, part 2

_Reloaded 23/08/2005, including revision of author's note at the end of this update._

* * *

**3. Crisis**

_Part Two_

* * *

"What was this all about?" asked Sago as soon as he and Justin arrived at Ops.

"If you didn't get it I'm not going to explain"

"I figured that Carlos had been through something"

"You can say that, yes"

"Loss?"

"Among other things"

"Easy to understand why he wants so badly to fight"

"It's also easy to understand why Tommy and Triny thinks it's a bad idea"

"You really think he'll lose it?"

"You just don't get it, do you?"

Sago waited while Justin searched for words.

"First the meteorite. Many humans were killed, many more than Enterrnas. Then the war broke. It's been going on for years now and guess what? We're losing. We are the last humans still fighting for Earth. The few civilians that survived have been evacuated. We are the last"

"Why didn't Karone and Melissa help before?"

"They wanted to, they really did, but the leaders of Earth won't let them and there was nothing they could do about it. Even our unit wasn't allowed to help, due to our connections with them"

"This is stupid"

"Humans can be stupid at times"

"The Enterrans just as well. They… we started the war, right?"

"One Enterran, to be exact"

"Mushrambo"

"Do you know what I don't get?"

"What?"

"When you guys come from, Mushrambo is dead"

"So?"

"So we guys are hardly strong enough to bother him. What could possibly kill him?"

"It just proves that he's not invincible"

"Maybe, but we lost the war despite killing him. Gosh, we'd better start working. This conversation is ruining my mood, and if Zhane catches me on low moral he'll force me to sing – and that would ruin _your_ mood alright"

* * *

"Kutall?" Kat peered into the kitchen. "May I interrupt?"

"You're welcome, but there's nothing ready yet"

"Oh no, I'm not hungry". She got in. "Your lunch is my breakfast, you know"

"Night shifts?"

"Yup"

"Isn't it hard on you?"

"I've always been the nocturnal type. That's why I'm doing those shifts"

"So if you're not hungry, what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to talk to you about our defenses"

"Yes?"

"You told Carlos that it would take an Enterran with an earth affinity that equals yours, in the least, to break through whatever it is that you did"

"Indeed so"

"Is earth affinity, your level, a common trait?"

"Not really", admitted Kutall.

"Is it possible that the shield you conjured would just fail?"

"It might happen. I've never done anything like it before"

"I see". She thought it over for a moment. "You think it's possible to operate our normal shields just beneath yours, so we won't be completely vulnerable should your shield fail?"

"You'll have to keep it very tight or they would interfere with each other but yes, it's possible. And yes, I would feel any change with the shielding I created"

"That's good. So I'll go down to engineering and get it done. Would you tell me if anything changes?"

"But of course. And you would tell me when you're done, yes?"

"Sure. Thanks, Kutall"

"You're welcome. Are you sure you don't want anything?"

"Well… Is there any iced tea?"

"Mint or peach?"

"Mint, definitely, and any kind of sweets"

* * *

"Nice idea, Kat, let us know if it works". Zhane tapped the comm closed. "Looks like Kutall saves the day", he said, "Are you hiding any useful skills too, Sago?"

"Not really. I've got water affinity, but I don't think it could help us in any way"

"Water affinity?" remarked Justin, "Now it's getting interesting. Does Mushra have some sort of affinity as well?"

"Yes, he has fire affinity"

"Only air is missing"

"Not according to Ejernor", said Zhane, "According to Ejernor, air is the weighted combination of the other elements"

"Ejernor?", asked Sago.

"It's a long explanation"

"I've got patience"

"You won't charm your way out of it, Zhane", smirked Justin, "He's not going to leave you be until you explained it all"

"Knock it out", groaned Zhane, "Fine. A couple of thousand of years ago, in the beginning, Ejernor was a family name. It still is, but the name is also used for the nation that this family founded. My nation"

"You're not human?"

"I am. Planet Earth is the origin of the human race, but there are humans at other places as well"

"How come?"

"There's been a mighty war at the time of the first Ejernors. Earth and the humans were a big issue despite the fact that these were the very first days of the species, so one of the factions transferred a group of humans to a different planet, so as to protect the species from annihilation. The mother of the family was a member of this faction, and it so happened that she married a human. As she wasn't human herself, all her descendants possess some unusual talents despite being considered humans themselves. Anyway, this group of humans had become the Ejernor nation. With the help of the faction that brought them to the stars, and under the leadership of the Ejernor family, this nation evolved far beyond the humans of Earth. Now the mother of the family, Oshra Ejernor, left a large assortment of writing behind her as she passed away. Normally, when one says "Ejernor" without further comment, they refer to those writings"

"Isn't acknowledging only three Elements a bit unusual?" asked Justin.

"Oshra Ejernor was always considered a bit unorthodox"

"Sure explains why… Oh hell!". The cover of the sphere suddenly became opaque.

"What happened?" asked Sago.

"It's not good, that's for sure", spat Zhane as he worked his way on the control panels, "Turn down all scanners!"

They waited in silence until the sphere became transparent again.

"A search squad passed right above us", said Justin, "Some close shave"

"Any change in their search patterns? Or is this random?"

"I can't tell yet, there's not enough data for statistical validity"

"When will there be?"

"Tomorrow morning"

"All non-essential processes are off, right?"

"I'll see what else can be done"

"And we turned down the scanners"

"Good idea. We can get along fine on satellite data"

"Not unless they send molls. The satellites can't see underground"

"I can compensate for that, but… Say, Sago, feel like taking over the sphere?"

"What?"

"We need as many hands as possible down in engineering, and if you take the sphere it would spare another pair"

"I've got no clue how to work the thing"

"It's mostly intuitive, you'll manage", said Zhane, "Move out, Justin"

Justin lowered the sphere and went out of it. "No control panels", he said, "This system is though-controlled. As soon as the hood closes over, the sphere would transfer all incoming data to you. You should look for any irregularities"

"How can I tell what's irregular what I don't know what's the norm?"

"That's what the archives are for. You'll have full access. You'll be supplied with any information you'll think of – so watch your mind"  
Sago went hesitantly into the sphere. The hood closed over him and the Ops center was erased from his view. Information in every possible form flooded him. Justin's warning was unnecessary as he had no time to think about anything but the current moment: the more information he managed to juggle in his mind, the more information he was supplied with. His sense of time crashed.

* * *

"What, it's three hours already?", he asked as Zhane's voice came through the comm, "I'm still doing okay"

"Get out or I'll cut the power"

Sago lowered the sphere and opened it. "Feels weird", he said.

"The feeling will last a couple of hours. I checked your output: you worked yourself hard"

"I'll make myself some coffee and get to the simulators"

"You really did good work"

"My head is bursting. Should I get it out on you, or on simulated foes?"

* * *

It was an exhausted party that gathered for dinner that day. Kutall's cooking kept them from biting at each other, but did not receive the usual applause. Kutall seemed indifferent even when Kat apologized for their lack of enthusiasm.

"Your appetite is the best compliment there is"

"No insult meant, but I'm tired enough to eat sauched cockroaches" yawned Zhane.

"I'll eat them without the sauce", growled Carlos.

"There's lots of protein in cockroaches", said Emma seriously, "It's very nutritious"

Justin and Sago giggled.

"But aren't they amazingly hard to chew?", asked Justin.

"Depends on how well you cook them"

"You also have to add tones of sugar, or they come out too bitter", mentioned Zhane.

"Caramelled cockroaches", mused Kat, "Hi, it sounds pretty good"

"Sounds like a nice snack food", said Sago.

"We can do them in the Wok", said Triny, "To make them crunchy"

"I bet we can find lots of cockroaches in Zhane's dirty laundry basket", said Carlos.

"Nobody touches my cockroaches", protested Zhane, "They're pets, not living stock"

"What kind of nutritional value can be gained by feeding on dirty socks?", wondered Justin.

"We should raise them on special food", suggested Triny.

"Say, Kutall, would you develop cockroaches- rearing food? It should be a hit! Where has he gone to?"

"Nowhere", said Kutall, returning from the kitchen with a large covered plate. He put it on the table. "Behold", he announced as he took down the covers. The rich smell of chocolate filled the room. Kutall put the cover back on. "Than again, you would prefer roasted cockroaches"

"Never"

"No way!"

"Us, prefer cockroaches?"

"Where did you get such an absurd idea?"

"God forbid!"

"Kutall", said Justin in utmost seriousness, "I absolutely love you. May I have the largest slice?"

* * *

"I wonder how they would have gotten along if we weren't here" said Kutall after Sago told him about the sphere.

"They wouldn't be here as well if not for as", reminded him Sago, "They were going to abandon this base"

"True", said Kutall, nodding his head, "Sago, would you mind if I pull night shifts?"

"Come again?"

"Triny things I'm almost ready to pull a shift, and she asked me for any preferences"

"You'd rather pull the night?"

"I don't want to do morning, and I'd rather cook in the afternoon. You guys have no idea how mush you consume"

"Don't bet on it. Justin adores you, and Triny and Carlos aren't that far from it"

"So you wouldn't mind?"

"No, not at all. At least, not as long as there are fresh pancakes in the morning"

"I was thinking about changing to buns"

"Fine with me. Night, Kutall"

"Good night to you too"

* * *

_**A/N:** Hi All. I suppose if you've read this far, you've realized that this story is a crossover, and if you didn't - well, i'm saying it now, and I hope it won't scare anyone off._

_All the non-Shinzo characters, with the exception of Shiera, Emma and Melissa, are from "Power Rangers". Shiera, Emma and Melissa are my creations, from a PR fanfic I wrote ("Shadow Line trilogy"). You don't have to read the SLT to understand what's going on here, but you can find it on my profile page if you want. You can also email me, and i'll give you a brief. Same applies for cannon PR background - you don't need it for this fic, but if you do want me, email me._

_For those who do have some PR background: SLT (and therefore, "The Phoenixes" as well) follows cannon until the middle of season 6 (PRiS), and completly ignores anything that came after PRiS. "The Phoenixes" takes place 10-15 years after the SLT (I honestly don't remember right now what I decided, but you can do the math from the data in "Emma", and assuming the Astro Rangers were 17 at the end of the season)._


	10. Crisis, part 3

_Reloaded 03/09/2005._

* * *

**3. Crisis**

_Part Three_

* * *

Sago waited until he could hear Kutall's snoring. He got up, dressed and went to the kitchen, where he made several gallons of tea, poured them into as many thermoses as he could find and filled a modest-sized bag with apples. He took all those and went to Mushra's room.

"What are you doing here?" frowned Emma, "If Triny catches you…"

"She won't"

"It's awfully sweet of you to bring me all this, really so, but…"

"The second will be tonight, won't it?"

"Most likely so". Her eyes narrowed, "My, you've been watching me considerably"

"True"

"Well, you brought enough supplies to last me two night. Thanks. Go to sleep"

"I brought enough for one night – for two people. Don't say anything because I won't hear it"

Emma gave the young Enterran a very long look.

"I mean it", he added.

"You may well stay awake all night. Zhane won't make it easy on you"

"I'll live"

* * *

She bit her lips. "Pass some tea", she said finally.

They waited silently until midnight, drinking tea and eating apples. Emma's eyes trailed between Sago and the monitors.

"It's starting", she said suddenly.

"Are you certain?"

"Yes"

Sago touched Mushra's forehead. "No fever"

"That's because it's going to be different this time". She set a liquid bag on top of a tall metallic stand by the bed.

"What's this?"

"IV drip. Fastest way for giving one his medications". She slid a thin syringe into Mushra's left arm and then reprogrammed one of the monitors. "Watch this, tell me if there is any change". Then she turned to her distillery.

"So what symptoms are we waiting for?"

"Considering that last time the symptoms matched Mushrambo's Venom, it's likely that this time the symptoms will match Shiera's blade: convulsions and hallucinations. Keep your eyes on that monitor"

So he did. He watched the monitor with keen attention while Emma worked on several different processes at the same time. None of the markers moved for what seemed like forever. Then one of them dropped slowly.

"Emma, something's moving here!"

She gave the monitor a quick look. "Open the plug just enough for the solution to flow, give him a third of that bag". She put several small phials on a plate. "Add distilled water to the top and put them in cooling"

"What would you do if I wasn't here?"

"Run more"

"We're out of distilled water"

"There's a jerrycan on the other side of the door"

"That marker is still dropping"

"How much did he get?"

"Almost as much as you said"

She drew some oily substance to a small syringe. "Add that to the solution, let it run to half and close the plug"

"There's another marker flashing!"

"Ignore it, check on the rightmost phial"

"No change"

"Argh!" She brought a fuming tube of the fire and plugged it. She grabbed herself an apple and threw him one too. "Eat, this may be our one and only break"

He finished the apple in several large bites and checked on that phial again. "There are crystals forming"

"But there's still liquid?"

"Yes"

"Wait for the liquid to disappear and bring it here". She closed the plug on the intravenous solution and replaced the bag with a new one. "It should happen pretty quickly". She covered Mushra with an extra blanket and shooed Sago away. "Go on, I'll take care of this"

"Do you mind not acting like I get in your way?"

"I'm not used to people"

"A healer who doesn't get along with people?"

"I didn't say that"

"Right, you get along with unconscious people"

"Shut up"

"Want some tea?"

"Lost case"

"I aim to please"

"So watch that monitor"

"There's nothing moving"

"Let's keep it this way"

"What are we waiting for again?"

"Get lost" with a smile. He shut up.

After a few moments, however, something seemed wrong. "Emma, he's shivering. There's nothing on the monitor, but… Hey!"

Mushra's body jerked violently. Sago tried to hold him down while Emma worked hurriedly at her distillery. Sago swore loudly: Mushra was every bit as strong as he was. "Emma!"

"Coming right up!"

Mushra's eyes opened.

"Mushra, hold still!"

Mushra didn't seem to hear him. The convulsions became more violent. The needle was torn from his vein. Sago pulled all his strength so Emma could put the needle back. Emma opened the plug fully and Mushra's body relaxed almost immediately.

"I am so glad I let you stay"

"I'm sorry you didn't throw me out"

"Are you ok?"

"A little bruised, no big deal"

She put two spoonful of sugar in a tea mug and handed it over to him. He emptied it in one gulp.

"Thanks"

"Have some more". She tightened the needle to Mushra's arm with generous amounts of sticky tape.

"There's going to be more convulsions?"

"Usually they just get worse, but I gave him lots of sedatives"

"Here he goes again!"

They held him together.

"How about we just tie him down?"

"We'll regret it when the hallucinations start. Let's set the bed bars and cushion them instead"

"Aren't those sedatives supposed to sedate him?"

"He's not a by-the-book patient. You really should be happy about it"

"And why would that be?"

"Because by the book, he should be dead several times by now. Ouch!"

Mushra's body jerked again while Emma was setting the bar, and the heavy object fell on her hand. Fortunately no harm was done.

"Why don't you give him more sedatives?"

"I gave him a dosage to put Kutall in comma". She pressed a sticker to Mushra's neck. "Ok, now this is weird"

"What?"

"With the drugs level in his blood being nearly lethal, this sticker should have turned red"

"Its color didn't change at all"

"Exactly. His system is neutralizing the sedatives really fast", She added more sedatives to the infusion bag, "Fast even for an Enterran"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you know that Enterrans are supposed to be tougher than humans. It means that you don't get sick so easily, but you're also more resistant to various drugs"

"The three of us aren't exactly normal Enterrans"

"So I was told. Something about elemental affinities?"

"Partially. The gems enhance our natural abilities"

"Gems?"

"Yes, gems". He tapped the front of his helmet.

She stared at the three blue stones. "But of course! I should've know!" She stormed to her backpack. "If Melissa knew!"


	11. Crisis, last part

_Reloaded 23/08/2005_

* * *

**3. Crisis**

_Last Part_

* * *

"What on Enterra are you talking about?"

"A Crystal Healer who failed to notice a gem before her very eyes?" said Emma, digging in her backpack furiously; "I'm never going to live it down whenMelissa finds out"

"What's a Crystal Healer and what does Melissa have to do with this?"

"Melissa trained me as a Healer. Crystal Healers use the Guardians' Crystals or Gems in our craft". She brought a small, black wooden box out of the bag and placed it on the bedside table. She lifted the lid cautiously.

The box contained a single crystal, multi-facet and clear, the size of a large walnut. Emma placed a flashlight above it so that the thin beam was perpendicular to the table. The flashlight remained in placed when she let go of it and arranged her hands above the crystal and to its sides. She hummed.

The crystal rose into the air, casting rainbows across the room. Emma adjusted the tone of her humming and the position of hands, rotating the crystal, until the beam of light passed through it unchanged. Than, still not touching the crystal, she brought it above Mushra's body.

Once above Mushra, the crystal seemed to move on its own accord. Emma followed it with her hands, humming fervently to keep the crystal properly aligned. Her humming grew into singing as the crystal's speed increased.

Suddenly, the crystal moved directly to Mushra's forehead, locking itself above the tiara. A ray of light connected the two talismans. Emma's face writhed. She struggled to keep her voice steady. She grew pale. Her singing turned into a cry, yet she kept the sound clear. Her eyes warned Sago to stay out of it. Sweat trickled down her neck. She was shaking.

The ray of light vanished. Emma dropped the crystal into its case and fell to the carpet. Sago tried to help her up, but was startled by how cold she was. He wrapped her in some warm blankets and set by her until she stopped shivering.

"You scared me"

"I scared myself, too" she managed to answer. Her eyes were still very wide.

He sweetened a cup of tea and stabilized her hands as she drunk it. Her soft skin was much darker than his.

"Have you spent much time in the sun?"

"No. This is my natural coloring"

"I've never seen a dark-skinned Enterran. I like it"

"You are such a flatterer". Her blood was returning to her cheeks. "If you ever want to know why you never saw a dark-skinned Enterran, ask Triny and you will be given a lecture about latent racism"

"Thanks for the warning"

She gave a small, fragile smile and tried to stand up. He helped her to her feet.

"Now, would you tell me what happened?"

"Crystals"

"I could see that"

"I didn't notice he was wearing a gem until you shoved it in my face. He could have died because of my mistake. The gem made him resistant to all my medicines, you see"

"So you used your own gem?"

"Sort of. Even so, he was almost too strong for me. He's …". She stopped abruptly. Pain and Anger played across her face. Sago surprised both of them by hugging her.

"It's ok", he said quietly, "You don't have to say anything"

"I managed to wake his Will", she whispered, "Listen to him breathing: he is truly asleep now. Can you hear it?"

"Yes, I do"

"We can remove the bars and the IV equipment, it's unnecessary".

Sago let go of her.

Mushra opened his eyes, very drowsy. "Sago?"

"It's ok, go to sleep"

"That human – she tried to kill me"

"She's gone"

"Than who…?" Suddenly Mushra spotted Emma. "Yakumo?", he asked, his voice very confused, "How did you get here?". Then he fell asleep again.

"He'll wake up properly in the morning" said Emma quietly.

"I'm not worried"

"I wonder, why did he mistake me for Yakumo?"

"Maybe I should have told you before"

"Should have told me what?"

"That you and Yakumo are very much alike, almost like sisters. Same height, same figure. Well, she's leaner than you are. Your colorings are rather different and there are some differences in your facial featured too, but you're still remarkably alike: you even share some of you body language"

"Interesting", said Emma. She set down, deep in thought.

Sago let her think as he tidied up the room. An hour and a half passed before Emma moved again, She shook her head as if trying to rid herself of some unpleasant thought.

"Maybe you should have mentioned it earlier", she said.

"I plead guilty"

"As long as no harm was caused. You're not keeping any more secrets of this sort, are you?"

"Right", he lied. He had the gnawing suspicion that Emma knew he was lying. He found it more worrying than the realization she was keeping some secrets, too.

"Wasn't this room a mess?" she asked suddenly, looking around.

"It was"

"When did you tidy up?"

"When you were thinking"

"You should go to sleep"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. This crisis is definitely over"

"If you had it your way I wouldn't have been here at all. Maybe I should stay a while longer"

"There is no reason for you to lose more sleep"

"Wouldn't he want to see a familiar face when he wakes?"

"My face is familiar enough, from what you tell me. I understand that you are worried for him, I really do, but you've done more than enough already"

"Oh, well". He collected the empty thermoses.

"Leave those. I'll clear them. You go straight to bed or I'll need to stitch your skull tomorrow"

"The obstacle course – I nearly forgot"

"Figures", she said dryly.

"Zhane wants me to finish the bloody track tomorrow"

"You better do it than. There's not much time left before you'll have to glide for real"

"What are you talking about?"

"This base will be uncovered in a couple of days' time. We'll have to flee, and it's going to be one bumpy ride"

"I can fly"

"Not fast enough, and you know it"

"Kutall and Mushra can't glide"

"We've got some vehicles, but it takes gliders to secure them properly"

"Where are we going, anyway?"

"Another base, probably half across the planet"

"I don't know if I'll be ready in time…"

"It's a possibility"

"…but I sure mean to try. Just promise me one thing"

"What?"

"Look after yourself too"

"He has to get well"

"You're taking it to heart even more than Kutall and I do"

"Both Mushrambo and Shiera considered him the most important of you three, if to guess by their attacks. Add this to the fact that Rusephine probably had a very good reason for sending you back in time. The conclusion is that Mushra is the most important thing that happened on this planet since the meteor crashed. If he dies, we'll never find out what's so important"

"Who'll be his healer if you wear yourself out?"

"There are others"

"I don't want anything happening to you"

"Sago, go, please". Her voice was hard, contrasting sharply with the softness in her eyes.

"You are one of the most stubborn people I know, in the same league with Mushra and Yakumo"

"Sago"

"Fine, I'm off"

She bit her lip. "I just wanted to say thanks".

"Don't say thanks, and don't shove me off either"

"I do promise to try"


	12. Notice, Not a Chapter

I'm just too tired. I'm doing too much work. And so, as much as I like this story, it's nor burning in my bones, and there isn't a pack of loyal readers i'll dissapoint by saying that I won't post new chapter to this story in the visible future. Sorry guys... Developing this story plus all my work is too much.  
  
-Hagar. 


	13. Awakening, part 1

_Reloaded 24/08/2005_

* * *

**4. Awakening**

_First Part_

* * *

Long eyelashes fluttered. Mushra opened his eyes, then closed them immediately as a headache threatened to split his head in two. His mind was painfully slow. He remembered Rusphine, the portal and Mushrambo. He carefully touched his neck and felt the wound. It was real, than. He also remembered a strange, large room, with many humans. One of them tried to kill him. Sago, Kutall and the rest of the humans tried to stop her, but her dagger pierced his right shoulder. He tried to move it, and it burst with pain. That was real too.

He opened his eyes again. The headache wasn't so bad this time. He looked around. He was lying in a bed in an unfamiliar room. A familiar-looking girl was asleep in an armchair. For a second he thought she was Yakumo, but then he remembered that the Yakumo he knew did not travel in time with them. The Yakumo of this era was an infant. There were also differences between the two girls: the sleeping girl's skin was too dark, her cheekbones not high enough, her hair black instead of brown. The curves of her body were more pronounced. She was a familiar-looking stranger.

He tried to sit. The headache burst again, and he fell to the sheets, swearing. The sleeping girl opened her eyes and smiled at him. "I'm so sorry", she said, getting up, "I must have fell asleep waiting for you to wake. Are you awake for a long time?"

"Just woke up. Who are you?"

"I'm Emma. I'm your doctor"

"My doctor?"

"The healer assigned to take care of you. I was summoned after Shiera… acted unexpectedly"

"She's not here, is she?"

"No, she's not"

"Where are Sago and Kutall?"

"They are in this base, alive and well"

"Can I see them?"

"Of course, but I'd rather examine your condition first"

"I'm fine"

"That would why I was graced with that display of language", she agreed.

He had the grace to blush.

"You've been unconscious for five days, Mushra" she explained gently, going through her scans.

"Five days? I wasn't injured _that_ badly"

"The blades that caused both of your wounds are bewitched. Your injuries are magically poisoned"

"Oh"

"You're hungry?"

"Very"

She patted a button on the fly of her shirt. "Kutall", she said.

"Yes, Emma?" came Kutall's friendly voice.

Emma motioned for Mushra to speak.

"Kutall?"

"Mushra! You're awake! Emma, you promised to call us when he's about to wake!"

"I fell asleep. Besides, he just woke up"

"Have you told Sago already?"

"Well, as Mushra is rather hungry…"

"Understood"

"See you in the common room?"

"Certainly"

She patted the button twice: "Sago"

After a few seconds came Sago's voice, panting: "Yes?"

Mushra didn't need a second hint: "Hi Sago"

"Mushra! About time! How're you feeling?"

"Been worse"

"We're meeting at the common room" interrupted Emma, "Already told Kutall"

"Second breakfast?"

"My first" noted Mushra.

"May I join you?" came a cheery voice Mushra didn't recognize.

"Not your party, Zhane"

"_You_'ll be there"

"Doctor's privilege"

"Oh well", sighed Zhane. "Sago, are you still here? Your friend is up! Shoo, out!"

"Oh Zhane" laughed Emma. She patted the button. She helped Mushra sit and poured him a glass of water. "Will be right back".

She returned to the room after a minute, a strange-looking stretcher hovering behind her. She helped him unto the stretcher and explained the controls. "Let's go"

There was another room outside the one where he woke, and then a corridor. Mushra followed Emma through the corridors till they reached a cozy looking room. Sago, who was sitting on one of the sofas, jumped to his feet.

"Mushra, it's so good to see you awake!"

"It's good to be awake. Where's Kutall?"

"Kitchen. He locked the door, but judging on the smell, we're in for a small feast"

"What happened to you? You look like you've been in a fight"

"Nah, just the bloody obstacle course". He grinned. "Wait till you see those gliders! Way cooler than your old board"

"He's not going on any glider", said Emma firmly.

"Who's gonna stop me?"

"Let's have you standing on your legs first" she pointed out.

"Hello". Kutall came in through an arched doorway. "The table is set"

"How're you doing, Kutall?"

"Much better, now that you're awake. Hurry up, the first course is getting cold"

The first course comprised fresh bread, fruit jams and several huge salads. The second, raisin muffins and rice pudding. Kutall was about to prepare a third, but they held him back. Even Mushra wasn't feeling hungry anymore.

"So, what were you guys up to when I was out of it?"

"Shifts", sighed Kutall.

"Training on the gliders" added Sago.

"You stayed in the base the whole time?"

"Too many Enterrans who wish us dead out there" said Emma. "They're looking for us"

"Why not get out there and kick their asses?"

"Because there are several thousands of them"

"If you're not going to eat the rest of the muffins, I'd better store them"

"Go ahead, than"

"How about a quick tour around the base?" suggested Sago.

"Nice idea" agreed Emma. "Let's start with Ops, shall we?"


	14. Awakening, part 2

_Reloaded 24/08/2005_

* * *

**4. Awakening**

_Part Two_

* * *

A human with slanted eyes smiled briefly as she spotted them. "Hello", she greeted Mushra, "It's good to see you awake. I'm Trini" 

"Nice to meet you" replied Mushra, somewhat embarrassed.

"I'm giving him the tour", said Emma.

"You want me to fetch Carlos from the Sphere?"

"The Sphere is the central command appliance", explained Sago.

"That thing up there" pointed Kutal.

"Normally, we don't man the Sphere constantly, but we're in something of an emergency situation" added Trini.

"Speaking of manning, wasn't Carlos's shift yesterday?" asked Kutal.

"I stepped of the Sphere when you were called down. Carlos is substituting me"

Kutal blushed. "I can stay, if you want"

"Forget it" said Trini flatly.

"How is Carlos doing today, really?" asked Emma, "I haven't seen him yet"

"As usual", answered Trini. Mushra couldn't help but notice she didn't say "Okay". "Where else are you taking them?" Trini asked Emma.

"Arsenal level, the landing bays, Engineering…"

"Start with Engineering" advised Trini, "Justin is down there working on the Interceptors, dying for company. Plus I asked Zhane not to tell him Mushra is up"

"What makes you think Zhane will stick to his word?" wondered Kutal.

"He won't miss a prank for the world", grinned Sago.

* * *

Emma slapped the spindly aircraft. "Yo, Justin", she called. 

"Yo yourself, what are you doing here?" came a man's voice from within the craft, and then the blond emerged. "Look who's here!" he called, sounding overjoyed. He got up, offered his hand for a handshake, and noticed how greased and filthy it was. He tried to wipe it with a non-the-cleaner rag, but gave up the attempt and laughed it off. "I'm Justin, as you must know by now, and I already know you're Mushra". He turned to Emma. "Zhane had a hand here, don't tell me he didn't"

"He did, but it was Trini's idea"

Justin whistled. "We've reached good times"

"Don't give us theevil eye"

"Since when are you superstitious?"

"Since", replied Emma shortly.

"Why weren't we showed down here before?" asked Sago.

" 'Cause there are well over 20 levels in this base, and you guys were busy enough as it was", said Justin. "Anyway, this is the Interceptors Level, the deepest from the Engineering levels. This baby", and he patted the craft, "is a short-range, single-pilot Interceptor Aircraft. It's a real airborne killer, but it can't fly much more than an hour, and the shields are practically nonexistent. Still, a good pilot can wipe off a medium-sized town and return safely to base before he runs out of gas"

"What are the bigger ones over there?" asked Mushra, pointing at three larger crafts.

"Medium range, two pilots. They've got reasonable shields, and they can fly maybe half a day, but their maneuvering ability isn't nearly as good. They're not on by tinkering though. The cruisers are". He wiped his hands again. "I'll take you to them"

The Enterrans surveyed the roundish crafts suspiciously. "Those aren't warcrafts, are they", said Sago.

"Convoy ships", confirmed Justin, "Excellent as escape vehicles. Practically nothing penetrates their shields"

"Awfully tough birds" added Emma. "When I was a child, I once took an older model without permission. It didn't take me long to run into a passing meteor. It barely scratched the paint off"

"I find it hard to believe", said Sago.

"That those ships are durable?" asked Justin, sounding offended.

"That Emma will take a ship without permission"

Emma laughed. "Exactly what my sister told me"

"I wouldn't call it "telling" " grimaced Justin, "We heard her, like, fifty lightyears away". Just then, his comm button beeped. He answered it.

"A core generator is down", groaned Zhane.

"Tell me it's not type five", sighed Justin.

"It is. Even better, I think one of the exchange coils is burnt"

"We'll have to dismantle the damn thing part by part", cursed Justin, "It's going to take days!"

"It won't", interfered Emma, "I can crawl inside the engine, I'll get the repairs done in a matter of hours"

"You're not a mechanic", said Justin skeptically.

"I can replace a burnt exchange coil"

"If you won't get burnt yourself"

"I'll monitor her from outside the circuit", put in Zhane, "Let's do it"

"If you do miss but the tiniest pulse…"

"I've monitored Andros more time than I can remember"

"You're up in Ops?"

"You bet"

"Alright, I'll come replace you"

"Forget it, we need those Interceptors today"

"I'll go, it's my shift anyway", volunteered Kutal.

"Our shift", correcting Sago, checking the time, "You better get in the kitchen"

"With all due respect…"

"Enough", said Zhane. "Emma, your call"

"Sago to Ops, Kutal and Mushra to the kitchen"

"Me?" complained Mushra.

"Yes, you", said Emma. "I'll feel better if someone keeps an eye on you"

"I can go up to Ops"

"We're busy enough up here", came Trini's voice.

"He can stay with me", offered Justin, "I'd love some company"

Emma pulled her shoulders. "Fine with me. Engineering is safer than the kitchen anyway"

"Plus there won't be any food left if Mushra hangs in the kitchen while I'm cooking" added Kutal.

"It's a deal", said Zhane. "Kutal, get yourself up here before Trini goes up in smoke. Emma, I'll see you at the core's auxiliary hatch"


	15. Awakening, part 3

_Reloaded 24/08/2005_

* * *

**4. Awakening**

_Part Three_

* * *

"You wouldn't mind helping out a bit, would you?" asked Justin, as soon as he and Mushra were left to themselves.

"Sure, but I don't know anything about those crafts"

"Just pass me the tools, so I won't have to crawl out to get them. Trust me, it would cut repair time by about a half"

Mushra nodded, and Justin crawled into the interceptor's engine.

"There's some purple cable over there", called the human. "Got it?"

"Sure. Anything else?"

"A medium plier would be nice"

Mushra looked at the dozen or so instruments. "Which one is the medium one?"

"The one that has 3.5 written on it"

"Got it". Mushra lowered his hoverchair and handed Justin the instruments.

"Thanks", said Justin.

"I should thank you, for letting me stay here", said Mushra. "I really don't like Emma's attitude"

"She's sure annoying when she gets over protective all over someone"

"Is she like that all the time?"

"Will you pass me the screwdriver with the orange handle, please, and no, she'll probably calm down in a couple of hours"

"Good. I'll go crazy if she won't stop watching over me"

"Don't expect her to stop that, now. Watching over you is why she's here"

"Oh, perfect", muttered Mushra darkly.

"Hi, I'm stuck in this rabbit's hole for three months now, 'cause my team leader is over protective of me. You just arrived"

"You're not the one who has two infected injuries"

"It's a tie. Ouch!" Justin yelped, and shook his hand violently.

"Are you okay?"

"Just burned my finger, nothing major. You see that slab of white stuff? That's the insulator. Pass me some, will you? And the clear blue spray"

"How do you get along when you don't have help?" wondered Mushra, as he passed the human the requested items.

"Normally, I don't work alone. Normally, I don't have to do a week's worth of patchwork in half a day's time"

"What's so urgent?"

"We've been using this base for too long. We should have abandoned it almost a week ago"

"What happened?"

"You guys"

"Sorry"

"Don't be". Justin pulled himself out, face and hands covered in smut and grease. He looked at Mushra gravely. "You listen to me. While you guys were fighting Mushrambo over that chopper, most of my team was busy defending the last group of evacuees. The only reason they made it, the only reason they all came back alive, is that you guys kept him busy and wore him out a little. Don't be sorry – many people, including my best friends, are alive because of you. You got that?"

"I do. I still wanna reap Mushrambo limb by limb"

"I'll hold him for you", said Justin, pushing back inside, "As soon as you're healthy"

"My wounds are barely closed, and you say it's been fine days since I was injured". Mushra hesitated, and then completed his sentence: "I won't be ready in time"

Justin laughed, his voice echoing strangely inside the craft's hull. "I was younger than you are now, when I got into the business of kicking bad guys' ass. You know what was the first lesson I learned?"

"What?"

"You can always count on miracles"

* * *

"Out", said Kutall firmly, as soon as Justin and Mushra entered the kitchen. "Now"

"I'm hungry!" complained Mushra.

"I was talking to Justin. He's filthy"

"You don't have to be so blunt about it", complained the human.

"You are dripping engine oil", said Kutall pointedly. "Go catch a shower, before the stench will stick to the food and ruin everyone's appetites"

"We've ate with worse smells"

"Let me rephrase. If you won't go now, I will become very, very upset. Should that happen…"

Justin didn't wait for Kutall to finish his threat. He vanished.

Kutall smiled at Mushra. "There's pasta salad", he offered, "I'm not bringing out the main courses until everyone are here"

"Bring it on", said Mushra, setting his hoverchair close to the table. "Say, are the rest of the humans as nice?"

"Most are. Kat is so sweet I could almost eat her"

"Kat?" Mushra blinked. "A tall, blond woman?"

"You remember her?"

"Vaguely, yes. I remember Trini, too, and there was this man on a stretcher…"

"That would be Tommy. He, and the others you might remember, aren't here"

"Carlos and Zhane weren't there when that Shiera person tried to do me in?"

"No, they arrived later. Zhane is very nice, when you ignore his twisted humor. Carlos, though…" Kutall lowered his voice. "Sago and I believed he isn't too fond of Enterrans, to speak mildly"

"What!" Mushra's eyes shot wide. "What's he doing here with us?"

"That's a very long story, and I'd rather tell it behind closed doors"

Mushra nodded mutely. "Say, you have any pickles around here?" he asked suddenly.

Kutall landed a jar on the table. "There you go. But I'm not bringing out more until the others are here"

"At least one "other" is here already, and I'm starving!" said a tall, blond man. Mushra recognized him as Zhane by his voice. He crashed into a chair. "And I'm starving", he repeated.

"Where's Emma"

"Shower. We passed Justin on the way; she made him look clean"

"No way", said Mushra.

"She left a trail of soot behind her"

"Somebody should clean it up", muttered Kutall.

"Already did", said Zhane.

The elevator's door opened. Trini and Sago came out, supporting a man that had to be Carlos. He was barely standing on his feet.

"Light and Darkness! What happened?" asked Zhane, leaping to his feet.

"They were nearly on to us", said Sago. "Took him half an hour to get them off out back"

"Strong coffee with too much sugar, please", said Trini. "Three of them"

"Right away"

Zhane and Trini helped Carlos sit down before sitting themselves. Sago conjured three large mugs of Physo-Pro. Trini needed both hands to hold hers. Zhane held Carlos's mug for him.

"Coffee", cracked Carlos after almost a liter of Physo-Pro. "Coffee"

"Any minute", promised Zhane. "Kutall!"

"Coming!" Kutall landed the pot on the table. "With too much sugar, by the lady's command"

"Not feeling too much like a lady right now", growled Trini. "What took you so long?"

"I made five pots"

"Suits you fine", said Sago, sounding amused. "I needed that coffee. That's been one long half an hour"

"Damn right it was", agreed Carlos. "Did it have to happen at the end of the shift, too?"

"Is it safe, leaving the sphere unmanned?"

"It is, on my word of honor"

"If most people would have said that, I would have freaked out with worry. You I trust"

"I'm touched", said Carlos dryly. "Pass me the pot, will you?"

Justin walk in. "What'd I miss?", he asked.

"Main course" answered Zhane.

"Don't believe him", advises Mushra. "Kutall won't give us anything until everyone are here"

"I wouldn't call 2.5 k's of pasta salad and half a kilo pickles "nothing" " answered Kutall.

"It is, when you're starved", countered Mushra.

"What's this?" demanded Kat. She woke in, still in her pajamas. "Why wasn't I told sleeping beauty woke up?"

"We didn't think it was important enough to wake you over it" said Zhane lightly.

"Zhane Ejernor, I'll strangle you!" She laughed. "Or worse yet, I'll tell you to Karone!" Her laughter increased at his mock-terrified expression. She turned to Mushra, and hugged the surprised Enterran.

"Careful, you're breaking the kid's ribs!" said Trini.

"I'm not a kid!" protested Mushra, though it did feel as if his ribs were about to give way. Kat was definitely strong, for the slim woman she was.

"They're calling me a kid, and I'm older than you", observed Justin.

The door hissed once more. Emma entered, taking in the scene quickly. "Not again", she said. "How're you feeling, Carlos?"

"Hungry"

"So it can't be that bad. I'll give you the all-over after we eat". She grabbed a chair. "What's today's menu, anyway?"

"Creamed tomato soup, served with fresh from the over garlic bread and basil butter. Next, beef pie, roasted duck with apples, vegetable souffle and potatoes in rosmarine. For dessert, we have…"

"I won't ask what we're celebrating", said Zhane. "I think we all know" He raised smiled at Mushra.

Mushra blushed.

"Congratulation for staying alive", said Carlos shortly. "Now to the important stuff: where's that dinner?"


	16. Awakening, part 4

_Reloaded 06/09/05_

* * *

**4. Awakening**

_Part Four_

* * *

"Talk quietly, mow", warned them Emma. "Let him sleep" 

"He slept five days now", complained Kutall.

"He's still weak, he had a busy day, and there's nothing like a full stomach to put a tired boy to sleep"

"Since out schedule went down the drain", said Trini, "what's the work table for the second shift?"

"I'm sleeping", said Carlos.

"I'll take Ops", said Justin.

"So I'll finish at engineering" completed Kat.

"Sago and I will complete the morning's session" stated Zhane firmly.

Sago suppressed a sigh.

"I'm cooking", said Kutall.

"I'll take Ops too", finished Trini – or so she thought.

"No you're not", said Emma. "You're going to sleep. I'm taking Ops. Doctor's orders", she addes as Trini was about to say something.

"What about Mushra?" asked Sago.

"He can stay here, with Kutall", ruled Emma. "When he wakes up, he can either stay here or go help Kat – if she agrees…"

"Of course I do"

"But don't you guys leave him alone for even a second"

"Aye, aye, Healer"

"Since we're finished with scheduling", said Kutall, "Get out of the kitchen"

* * *

"How nice of Emma", grinned Zhane as soon as he and Sago entered the elevator. "Trini is going to fall asleep the moment she lays her head on the pillow" 

"We're gliding outside the simulator?"

"You bet we do". The elevator's door opened to the Arsenal level. "It's time to get you a real glider. See this?" Zhane pointed to a purple-blue-purple on one of the doors. "That's the gliders' code"

Sago whistled softly as they entered the hangar: it was filled with gliders of different models and colors.

Zhane took a deep blue glider off one of the workbenches. "What do you think?"

"This isn't the model we practiced on"

"Right. This is a combat glider. It has all sorts of extra features, like weapons - " Zhane pointed to the cylinders at the bottom side of the glider " – better maneuverability and such. For example, if you want to summon your glider – just whistle". Zhane exemplified, and a silver glider speeded almost out of nowhere, and stopped at precisely the right height for Zhane to mount. Zhane jumped on it. "Grab your head unit", he told Sago, "and let's go"

* * *

After the infamous obstacle course, gliding in the service tunnels wasn't that hard on Sago. After a long, zigzagged path, he and Zhane stopped by an innocent-looking panel in the backside of a level Sago wasn't familiar with. 

"There's a stash right behind this panel", said Zhane, pointing at the panel. "I've been trying to hack it for a while now, but it's a damn good lock the Trini put on it"

"I'm sure you've got an idea"

"Well, a sudden condensation of water vapor inside a certain circuit would comfortably put it out of order"

"Gotcha". Sago laid his palm on the panel, sensing the inner spaces. "Tell me precisely where it is"

Zhane explained and after a minute, Sago said: "Done"

"Good". Zhane brought out an instruments bag. "Watch out back while I finish off the lock"

"Should I use IR view?"

"Good thinking"

After some stressed minutes, Zhane sighed happily. "We're in", he said, and typed in the last combination. The safe's door swung open. Zhane pulled out two bottles. "Beer!" he declared happily, opening the bottles and serving one of them to Sago. "Cheers!"

"Someone's approaching". Warned Sago. Zhane was just closing the last stash. "1.65 m, female. I'm picking up a glider's signature"

"Trini". Zhane finished the last rewiring, slammed the safe shut and jumped on his glider. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

The small space played for Trini's advantage: while Sago and Zhane were forced in uncomfortable gliding positions, the smaller Trini managed to develop superior velocity, and was catching up to them.

Zhane took a 90 degrees turn upwards. Sago barely managed to follow him – they've never done such a maneuver in the simulator. It only took Trini a couple of seconds to figure where they've gone, but they managed to open a decent gap between them.

At the fourth junction, Zhane and Sago picked an elevator shaft. After several seconds of smooth gliding, Sago wondered where the elevators are. His head unit responded to the thought, and a green grid appeared on his eyepiece, showing him the infrastructure of the underground base.

"Zhane, let's split up!" he called on the comm.

"You'll get lost in no time!"

"I just hit on the nav system!"

"So let's split!"

On the next junction, they took separate shafts. Trini followed Zhane, and Sago kept picking the turns that led away from them.

Naturally, it didn't take him long to get lost. As he tried to find a path that would lead him back to the Arsenal level, he found no trace of Zhane and Trini. They must have dropped off comm, he realized. He tried scanning for their glider's energy signatures, but picked too much static.

A shaft he was counting on was blocked by an elevator. The shortest alternate path led through engineering. As Kat's signal didn't register, he decided to pick that rout.

Engineering was, indeed, abandoned, but strangely enough, tools were scattered all over the interceptors, as if someone was working there, and suddenly vanished.

Sago turned into a tunnel – and pulled back sharply: in the distance, he could see Kat chasing after Zhane. Looking back, he saw Trini gliding in fast. Left without other options, he burrowed a leaf from Zhane's book, and took a sharp turn upwards.

* * *

Mushra and Kutall were in the kitchen, Mushra munching away on a mince pie. 

"Say, Kutall, can I have another pie?"

"Sure you can. I'm quite glad that you like it, as some of those spices are unfamiliar to me"

"What, there're cooking herbs you don't know?"

"Perhaps they were destroyed in the war. What's that noise, now?"

"You hear it too?"

"Like a swarm of angry bees"

Mushra listened intently. "It's coming from the walls", he said, "You think that the base is invaded?"

"Without any of the alarms going off? No"

"It's coming from the vents", said Mushra. He levitated his overshair to the vent, and tried to take off the grid.

"There's a switch on the right", said Kutall helpfully.

"Yeah, I've seen it" said Mushra, lying through his teeth. He prodded the switch, and the grid came off. Just as it did, though, two large somethings came zooming fast out of it.

"Hi, get here!" yelled Mushra angrily. Too late; the somethings were out of sight.

Kutall patted his comm button. "Justin?" he asked.

"Yo, Kutall. You want to know what the hell came out of the vent?"

"Yes, please"

"Zhane and Kat"

"What?" demanded Mushra.

"Apparently, Zhane and Sago went on a little safe-hacking tour. Trini woke up, Light knows why, and went chasing after them. Kat joined when the chase went through Engineering. Don't you worry about Trini getting mad, though: she could have caught up with Sago ten times by now, but chose to let him get away. I guess the four of them are having a great time"

"Good for them", said Mushra, somewhat bitterly.

Justin laughed. "There's a big holoscreen in the Gathering. I can relay you live covering of the action, if you want"

Mushra's face brightened considerably.


	17. Awakening, last part

_Reloaded 06/09/05  
_

* * *

**4. Awakening**

_Last Part_

* * *

"Before everyone fall asleep" said Zhane after they cleared their dinner plates, "You should know we're clearing off tomorrow"

"Isn't it a little sudden?" asked Kat.

"They're closing in on us" said Zhane simply. "Now that Mushra is up, there's no reason to delay"

"Pack tonight" said Trini. "We'll be leaving before noon"

"Who's with who?" asked Justin.

"Trini and I are the best pilots, that's easy" said Kat.

"I'm with Emma" put in Carlos.

"Emma, any preferences of pilots?"

"Kat's safer"

"Fine. Kat, you're taking Emma, Carlos and Mushra. Trini, you've got Justin and Kutall. Sago and I will glide"

"I want to be with Mushra!" protested Kutall. Mushra's expression conveyed very much the same emotion; only his pride made him silent.

"Sorry, no can do" apologized Trini. "The hovers can't take more than three passengers. Emma has to be with Mushra because he still needs medical attention, and either Carlos or Zhane must be with Emma"

"Why?" asked Mushra.

"Because it's part of the condition under which I was allowed back to Earth" said Emma.

"Weren't you born here?"

"I was" answered Emma. "I was evacuated alongside the rest of the citizens"

_Liar_, thought Sago, but said nothing.

Zhane put an end to the conversation. "Go get some sleep, people", he said. "You're going to need it tomorrow"

* * *

"What right has he got to order us around?" complained Mushra as soon as the door closed behind the three Enterrans, as they returned to the apartment they shared.

"If it wasn't for them, you'd be dead several times by now", said Kutall simply.

"One of them tried to kill me" reminded him Mushra.

"And they tried to stop her" answered Sago. "Their very leader risked his life for it"

"Are you their friend or mine?" asked Mushra hotly.

"We're your friends, first and foremost", said Kutall firmly. "But in the passing week, we've become their friends, too. If Yakumo was here, she'd want all of us to be friends"

"Yakumo…" opened Mushra, but stopped suddenly and lowered his gaze. "They're so much alike"

He didn't need to say who.

"We've noticed", said Sago. "There's more, though"

Mushra listened, wide-eyed, as Sago and Kutall told him everything they've heard and guessed.

"You guys have been damn busy while I was out of it, huh?" was all he managed to say when they were through.

"Pretty much" said Sago.

"Carlos don't look so bad, though" added Mushra thoughtfully.

"He's softened considerably", agreed Sago.

"He's fond of good cooking", added Kutall with a sly grin.

"Your cooking definitely helped", said Sago.

"And the fact that Zhane likes you a lot"

"How'd you talk Trini out of killing you today?" asked Mushra curiously. "Justin was certain that you' re done for"

"According to her, she's had too much fun to, and I quote: "kick our but into next Sunday". She'd have recoded the stashed, but we're moving out of here anyway"

"Going on a goodbye raid?"

"Nah, too tired. Loosing one night's sleep was enough"

"So I did see you!" cried Mushra triumphantly. "It wasn't a dream!"

"Emma let you spend the night watch with her?" wondered Kutall. "I thought she's send you out promptly"

Sago shook his head. "She's more lonely than she cares to admit"

"They're so much alike", repeated Mushra.

"Which reminds me", said Sago very quietly. "We haven't told them about our… past experience with Mushrambo"

"We weren't certain that they'd still trust us, if they knew" continued Kutall. "We'll need their help to save Yakumo"

"To save… Oh no, you don't think Rusphine was talking seriously?"

"He tried to kill us", said Sago sadly. "There's no reason to believe he won't try to kill her, too"

"He wouldn't!" protested Mushra.

"He would" said Kutall. "Mushrambo will try and kill Yakumo, in this time when she's a child - or not yet born. Those humans are the last ones fighting him. They're our best shot"

"I hate to be running away from a battle", said Mushra scornfully.

"There are thousands of them. We have no chance of victory, expecially that you've just woken", put Kutall firmly. "According to Emma, it's a miracle that you survived"

"Which reminds me…" said Sago, and told them of what he heard from Emma during the night.

"They spoke very highly of this Melissa person. It's an honor, that they sent a healer trained by her", said Kutall.

"Who are the Guardians?" asked Mushra. Sago and Kutall only shrugged.

"I'll try and get Zhane talk about it. You'll try with Justin, Kutall?"

"I will, but I think that Zhane knows more"

"Maybe, but Justin is less careful with his tongue"

"Justin's really nice" said Mushra.

"He and Kat, they're the sweetest of the lot" agreed Kutall.

"After the Shiera incident, Justin said that Kat's heart will be broken if you'd die", remembered Sago. He shook his head. "There's something troubling me about Shiera, but I can't put a finger on it"

"Let's not talk of her" said Kutall. The very mention of the name made Mushra's cheek flush with anger. "Let's sleep"

"I'm not tired" said Mushra automatically.

"Is that why your last yawn was nearly large enough to fit Kutall into it?" asked Sago sarcastically. "Go to sleep. There's some day awaiting us tomorrow"

"Yeah, the Fleeing Day" said Mushra.

"There's nothing wrong with fleeing from an army, if you're going to kill the general later on" said Sago.

Mushra thought it over. "You actually make it sound good!" he accused.

Kutall has had enough. "You want to save Yakumo? Go sleep"

"Yeah well". Mushra pouted. "Sleep tonight, flee tomorrow"


	18. The Fleeing Day, part 1

_Reloaded 06/09/05_

* * *

**5. The Fleeing Day**

_First Part_

* * *

_The white lightning hit him before he could get away. He crashed on the hard, gray cement. He tried to rise to his feet, but the woman shot another lightning at him. She clenched her fist, and shackles of bright gold formed around his wrist and ankles, forcing him down and burning his skin._

_She stood above him, the tip of her sword held against his throat, her pretty face writhed with harted._

_"I could kill you", she said quietly. "Only death is not enough of a punishment for you"_

_"Would you torture me to death, princess grace?" he taunted._

_Her eyes glinted with something akin to humor. "No", she said. Her sword prickled his skin, shedding one single drop of blood._

_Too late, he realized that she never meant to kill him. Fear filled his heart._

_"I have a much better idea", she said._

* * *

"Mushra!". Sago shook his friend. "Wake Up!"

"Huh?" asked Mushra,still drowsy.

"Slept well, didn't you?" asked Sago sarcastically. "For a second there I thought you went back into comma"

"For a moment there, I thought you were trying to do me in" shot Mushra back, massaging his shoulder. "That hurt!"

"You'd better get up. Breakfast in two minutes' time"

* * *

"Dig in, everybody" said Zhane, setting them an example. "We're leaving in two hours' time, and this may well be your last chance to eat before nightfall"

"I'll only go through the briefing once, so listen well", continued Trini. "Once breakfast is over, Emma and Mushra will go down to the bay and prepare the hovers for the trip. Carlos and Kutall will sort, pack and load everything that can and should be salvaged. Zhane, Sago – you're the armed escort, prepare as you see fit. Justin and I will be at Ops. I will wake Kat in an hour and a half. The alarm will go off two hours from now – unless we are discovered before. When you hear the alarm, drop everything and ran to the bay"

"I don't like it that you have only one replacement pilot" said Zhane.

"I think I can keep the over in the air, if push comes to shove", said Kutall. "But anything that'll take down two of us, is likely to take down the third as well"

"Don't say such things aloud" said Carlos.

* * *

"They look bigger from the outside" said Mushra when he and Emma stepped into one of the hovers. Emma reluctantly agreed to let him out of the hoverchair – he could walk, but he needed to sit down often and wasn't very stable on his feet.

"Just wait till all the crates are packed in", said Emma lightly.

* * *

"But we just unpacked those!" complained Kutall.

"Now you know why we all hate unpacking" said Carlos. "We usually have to pack again very shortly"

Kutall looked around at the gigantic weapon storage room. "How are we going to pack all this is time?"

"We won't". Carlos opened a panel on the nearest rifle, and pointed to one of the circuits. "That's the security lock. It's the only thing keeping the rifle from exploding whenever you drop it". Carlos made some quick – but carfull – adjustment. "Not it's disabled. All the weaponry will add to the self-destruct mechanism"

"You're destroying the base?"

"We can't use it again, so at least we'll put it to a good last use"

"Won't we need those weapons?"

Carlos's face clouded. "Oh, don't worry about that. The base we're moving to is more than well-equipped."

* * *

"Long rifles, short guns, Nova balls, pocket-sized shield generators, navigation comp…" Zhane ticked down his fingers. "Anything else you can think of?"

"I wouldn't mind some knives", said Sago.

"Good idea". Zhane pulled three large counters. "Pick what you want. How about some poisons, too?"

"Not really my style"

"Usually it's not my style either, but today I take what I can"

* * *

"Last check!" shouted Emma.

"All green!" shouted Mushra back above the roar of the engines.

Emma shut down the hover and jumped down. "Time?"

"One hour"

Emma slapped her comm button. "Ops? We're all set here"

"Carlos says they need at least twenty more minutes", came Trini's voice. "I'll send Zhane and Sago to help them"

* * *

"I think we have enough weapons" said Sago.

"Well I don't, but we kind of ran out of place, huh?" said Zhane.

"Kind of" agreed Sago wryly. He felt certain that the weapons he carried weighed more than him.

"How about shoulder missiles?" asked Zhane suddenly. "You can strap them on your back"

"I don't think so; they'll interfere with my wings"

"What wings?"

Sago changed to hyper mode. Zhane gave a very long whistle.

The comm button beeped.

"Armed to your teeth?" asked Trini.

"You bet"

"So go help Carlos and Kutall, they need extra hands"

"Roger that"

* * *

"Emma, it's me, don't shoot!" yelled Sago, ducking just in case.

"Sago?" Emma nearly dropped her gun. "What the hell?"

"Hyper mode" he answered shortly, dropping the crates he was carrying.

"Damn it, you scared me!"

"Look who's talking! I thought you were going to kill me!"

"I thought you were going to kill _me_!"

The bay's doors opened again. Sago slapped down Emma's hand.

"No, that's Kutall!"

"You could have at least warned us!"

"This way I can carry more", explained Kutall, putting down the thermal crates.

"What are all these for?" asked Emma.

"I packed us some food for the journey"

Mushra popped his head from inside one of the hovers. "Did anyone say food?"

"For the journey" stressed out Kutall.

"But I'm hungry!"

"We only have half an hour, people!" said Emma angrily. "Kutall, is there anything in there for Mushra to snack on?"

"There are some fruits"

"Hand him some, but only if you can find them real fast. We're running out of time"

* * *

"Those are the last ones" sighed Carlos, putting down some more crates. "What, you haven't loaded all those yet?"

"We can't load the hovers any more"

"We packed the minimum!"

"If we put more load on the hovers, they won't fly fast enough", explained Kat.

"Time?"

"Twenty minutes"

Carlos tapped his comm. button. "Justin? Do we have class seven gliders?"

"Just the one"

"Pickit up and get down to the bay"

"I don't know what you're up to, but we don't have time!"

"We don't have a choice, either". Carlos severed the comm. "Kat, help me with this engine, won't you?"

* * *

"Last check!" Called Justin.

"All green!" shouted Kat back.

"Shut the damn thing down!"

"Don't you dare insult the vehicle that's suppose to carry you!" she yelled, but shut the engine down nonetheless.

"Be superstitious another day, now grab a screwdriver and land us a hand!"

"Last crate loaded!" informed them Kutall.

* * *

"Buckle up" said Justin.

"Why? I can hardly move as it is" complained Mushra.

"Trust me, you'll want that seat belt on"

Kat climbed into their hover. "Are you guys okay?"

"Sure"

"Oh, Kutall, I found the coffee you made me. Thanks!"

"You're welcome. There's more in the thermal crate"

"Thanks, I'll remember"

"One minute to go, Kat!" yelped Justin. "Get out!"

"Have luck, guys!"

"You too!"

"Out, Sago!" Kat jumped into her seat. "Zhane and Trini will be here in no time"

"We're fastening the crates, there's a whole mess in here" said Sago.

" 'Cause somebody started an engineering project in the last minute" shot Kat, slapping switches.

"The crates are fine, they're just nervous" said Emma.

"Guys!" said Kat.

"Chew on us later, big sis" said Carlos. "C'mon, Sago. There's half a minute left"

"Have luck, guys. You keep an eye on them, Mushra"

Trini jumped from Zhane's glider straight into the hover's cockpit.

"Ten seconds!" she yelled.

Sago jumped on his glider.

"Fly north! Don't leave the gliders, whatever you do!" said Zhane.

The alarm started.

"The place will blow up in 30 seconds! Get _out_!"

The flight began in earnest.


	19. The Fleeing Day, part 2

_Reloaded 20/09/2005_

* * *

**5. Fleeing Day**

_Second Part_

* * *

A chute opened up in the ceiling when the alarm started. Without much though, Sago shot up threw it, praying it will lead him outside. He pressed forward hard, trusting his heightened hyperform reflexes to keep him from falling. Just when he was beginning to wonder how tall the chute was, a blinding patch of light appeared before him, growing quickly: an open hatch. 

After the darkness of the chute, the daylight was almost blinding. He'd barely managed to catch some altitude, though, when a noise like a low, loud thunder hit him from behind, followed by massive amounts of hot air. Looking down, he saw that great pillows of smoke were drifting about, and some buildings toppled down as if by an earthquake.

_The self-destruct_, he realized. The base was buried so deep in the ground, that the effects of its blowing up were barely noticeable, considering how massive the explosion must have been.

Rising higher in the air, he headed north and looked for the others. Zhane's glider was nowhere to be seen, but he managed to locate the two hovers. The small crafts managed to cover a surprising distance. Still, catching up was an easy.

"How nice of you to join us", said Zhane's sarcastic voice over the comm.

"Where are you?" Asked Sago. He's looked around for Zhane, but couldn't locate the silver glider.

"Up", came the short reply.

Sago risked looking up – and managed to catch the small pinprick of silver.

"How can you breath up there?" he asked.

Zhane snorted. "Forgot to tell you. Gliders have atmospheric generators. You can fly up in space if you want to"

"Is there anything that these babies can't do?"

"Zero shielding"

"As if anyone can hit a glider"

"Trust me, they can"

"I'll keep that in mind"

* * *

"Jeez, Trini!" shouted Justin over the noise of the engines. "You spent too much time in the same cockpit as Jason!" 

"Did not!"

"Did too! You're almost as bad as he is!"

"Am not!" she yelled back.

"I'm not feeling very well", moaned Kutall.

"See?" shouted Justin. "You're making Kutall seasick!"

"There's nothing wrong with my flying, and we're no in the sea, so he can't possibly be seasick!" replied Trini irritably. Still, she lessened the zigzagging of the hover.

"Better", sighed Kutall. "What's with the zigzagging, anyway?"

"I don't want anyone getting a lock on us"

"It's a hover, Trini, not a Zord", said Justin. "It's a whole lot smaller, you know"

"They shot _Kim _down, and she was flying a speeder"

Justin groaned. "You had to remind me"

* * *

"Kat, we're falling behind!" yelled Carlos. 

"Well, excuse me for being a responsible pilot!" she yelled back.

"We've nearly lost sight of Trini!"

"I've get her clear on the board, don't worry!"

* * *

"Sago, if you keep that altitude you have to move ahead", informed him Zhane. "Lowest position takes the lead" 

"Speeding"

"It's also the most dangerous position. If..."

"Forget it", said Sago brightly. "You just made my day"

It did not take long for Sago to realize what Zhane meant. At first, he thought that it was dense smoke beneath him. Then, he realized his mistake.

"Hunting beings!" he called over the comm.

"Move up, everybody!" called Zhane.

"Are we avoiding a fight?" demanded Sago.

"We'll have plenty later. Now, move up!"

Higher they soared, flying higher than the hunting being could reach. It was only a temporary relief, though, as a second wave of attackers came.

"Insect people!" announced Sago.

"We can't outfly them!" said Kat. "Too much cargo!"

"Go east, I'll cover for you!" came Trini's prompt reply. "Guys, cover for us!"

"Yes, ma'am!" said Zhane. "You heard the lady, Sago"

"I was thinking you'd never ask"

* * *

"Why are we going east?" asked Mushra. "We should be going west!" 

"There's a big ocean in the east", said Carlos.

"But Shinzo is in the west!"

"We can avoid the Enterrans better by flying over the ocean", said Carlos shortly. "They can't follow us far above it"

"Yakumo said that whatever's in Shinzo could help the humans", insisted Mushra.

"It's a round planet", tried Emma. "East and West are essentially the same"

"Come off it, Emma", said Carlos. "Shinzo's a myth"

"No it's no!" protested Mushra.

"Man the cannons, people!" shouted Kat suddenly. "Here they come!"

* * *

"Why are we loosing speed?" demanded Kutall. "Are we hit?" 

"No, but it'd be nice if they thought we are" said Trini.

"They're about to catch up with us!"

"That's the plan, pal", said Justin, adjusting his grips on the cannon's control.

"Why?" demanded Kutall.

"Because Mushra is the one Mushrambo tried to kill", said Justin. "And I hate to think what might happen if Emma is hurt"

"Why _are_ you so protective of Emma?"

" 'Cause her family's make 'overprotective' look like an understatement", said Trini. "Are you guys going to start shooting, or what?"

"As soon as they're in range", said Justin.

"I'd rather do this myself", complained Kutall.

"Too bad that the hover's faster, and that Earth powers aren't much help when airborne"

Kutall did not have time to retort. The steady right light above the cannons' viewfinders turned blinking green: the insectoid Enterrans came within range.

* * *

"Warn me first, will you?" shouted Zhane, rather irritated: he's just barely dove out of the way of Sago's Aquadragon. 

"Sorry!" called Sago back, not sounding remotely sorry. Zhane's reply would have made him laughed, if he hadn't just been attacked from behind by an extremely large insectoid.

* * *

"Kat, it's freezing back here!" shouted Carlos at the top of his lungs. The roar of the engines, combined with the rush of the wind, made it extremely hard to be heard. "Turn on the shields!" 

"Not enough power!" screamed Kat back.

"So fly lower!" he roared.

"Too much air resistance!"

"Well, do something!"

"We're headed south, if it's any help!"

"We'll freeze before we reach a normal parallel!"

"Not at this speed you won't!"

* * *

"They're falling behind!" called Sago, almost disappointed. 

"Can't fly too far over the ocean", said Zhane cheerfully. "They don't have the stamina to make it back. Say, you know where the others are?"

"Trini's farther north, and way out west. Kat's to the east"

"Alright, got them". There was an audible click as Zhane switched comm modes. "Trini, regroup"

"Negative"

"You're too far out"

"We still have some company. I'll join you once we're rid of them"

"Negative". Carlos's voice joined the conversation. "You go any farther north, Trini, and you're in Ryuma's territory"

"Negative", repeated Trini.

"It's not like they'll follow you into the ocean" said Zhane.

"It's my idea". Kutall joined the conversation. "As long as we're on our own, they're likely to think that we're the main target"

"Trini, Justin, are you nuts?" demanded Kat, at the same time Sago asked: "Kutall, are you sure it's wise?"

"It's working", said Justin shortly. "We'll go over the polar area and catch up with you above mainland"

"We've got it covered, Sago", said Kutal.

"We can't cover you!" protested Zhane. "It's a suicide run!"

"You're forgetting that we can escape upwards", said Trini. "I don't think they'll follow us out of the atmosphere"

"The cronies won't", said Sago. "But don't be so sure about Ryuma or Dako themselves"

"Daku doesn't like the cold. Besides, if he was going to interfere, we would have seen him by now" said Justin.

"As if Ryuma's not bad enough", said Carlos. "He's the worst, after Mushrambo"

"You only say that because you never met Rusphine", said Kutall grimly.

"And you guys will enter her territory far before we do", said Justin. "Let us draw some of her troops away"

"Emma, what's your status?" asked Zhane suddenly.

"She's kind of busy right now", said Carlos. "The cold nearly got Mushra before Kat dumped enough velocity"

"Don't blame me!" said Kat indignantly. "There were no warning signs!"

"Is he alright?" asked Sago worriedly.

"He's better", said Carlos. "Emma won't let anything happen to him, don't worry"

"Oh really" said Sago sarcastically.

"Enough", said Zhane. Apparently, he made up his mind. "Sago, move ahead and join with Kat's. Kat, fly as low as you can; Sago will secure you from below. Trini, I can't order you around, but I can't watch your back, either"

"I know. See you over the mountains, Zhane"

"Sure hope so"

"Hi, Kutall", said Sago. "Shoot somedown for me, will you?"

"Only if you do the same"

"You bet I will"


	20. The Fleeing Day, part 3

_Reloaded 20/09/05_

* * *

**5. Fleeing Day**

_Third Part _

* * *

The permafrost stretched beneath them, long, white and desolate. Ryuma's troops were yet to launch their attack.

Inside the hover, all was quiet. Trini, experienced pilot as she was, needed to concentrate, and she ordered Justin and Kutall to keep their traps shut. The two knew better than to argue with a tired Trini.

Kutall was staring at the permafrost, munching away at a meat pie. He and Justin took turns manning the cannon. As Kutall was only relieved off duty a few moments ago, he was starved. The pie he was currently finishing was his second.

On the other side of the small craft, Justin had his hands on the cannon'n control, watching the display with weary eyes. Though the shift has just begun, his eyes felt tired and sore already, due to the biting cold wind that penetrated the hover.

The wind wouldn't have made it through the shields, but Trini shut them off, claiming that the less energy their craft emitted, the better off they were. Essentially, she was right, but the cold was getting to all of them, even to Kutall, who was insulated from the worst bite of the cold. Not that anyone complained; they were warriors, after all.

"Here they come!" cried Justin suddenly, breaking the silence. "Pull up those shields, Trini, 'cause they're heading right at us!"

Trini said nothing, but the wind stopped inside the hover.

Kutall abandoned his third pie, and got his hands on his cannon's controls.

"Where are they?" he asked. "I can't see them"

"Check your scanners", said Justin grimly. "Near infra red"

Kutall adjusted his scanners' controls, and gulped. The monitor was covered with red dots.

"This can't be good", he said.

"How many?" asked Trini.

"Several hundreds, in the least", said Justin.

"How many warriors does Ryuma have?" she asked.

"That he would sic on us?" Justin shrugged. "Maybe a couple of thousands, not more"

"So that's a pretty big strike force we're looking at", said Trini thoughtfully.

Justin grinned. "Gotcha"

"Mind filling me in?" asked Kutall irritably.

"We're looking at maybe a quarter of Ryuma's elite", explained Justin, "And Ryuma is a long-range planner. He must be thinking we're the real target, if he's spending that much troops on us. Your plan's working"

"At least Zhane will be happy", muttered Trini.

"So we keep those guys chasing us for as long as we can, and then dive in and take them out". Justin paused. "Or at least, that's the plan"

"Great", muttered Kutall, adjusting the settings on his cannon.

"It means we don't shoot just yet", warned him Justin.

"So what do we do?"

"We flee; but only as fast as they can chase us"

* * *

They were flying over the water for hours before Sago first spoke.

"Zhane?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes?"

"You do know that oceanic Enterrans exist, right?"

"Sure, why?"

"Because I think they're here, and…" Sago looked again at the ocean surface, just to make sure, "…they don't seem friendlier than the rest of them"

Zhane swore in a language unfamiliar to Sago. "Kat, move up"

"No way in hell", came the prompt reply. "I just talked to Trini. They've got Ryuma hot on their tail, thinking they're the real thing"

"I'm not asking you to go out of the atmosphere. Just get out of range"

"No", she said calmly. "I'm staying right here where we can help when the fight breaks"

"Emma, tell her"

"No", replied Emma, her answer taking Sago by surprise as well. "We're staying here"

"We can't risk you getting hurt!" protested Zhane. "Sago, Carlos, back me up here!"

"Emma, he's right. Zhane and I can handle this. We can't risk you or Mushra getting hit", said Sago.

"This is one fight I'm not backing away from"

"Let us", said Carlos quietly. "Let us fight"

"I want you in one piece, pal"

"Last time I've been in a fight was years ago, Zhane. Please"

Carlos's plea succeeded were Kat's arguments failed. Zhane caved in. "Fine. But fly just low enough to hit whatever's coming from the water. Not an inch lower than absolutely neccesary"

"Roger that"

* * *

"Trini, I think they're getting tired!" shouted Justin over the engine's noise. "Slow down or they'll lose us!"

"Can I shoot now?" roared Kutall.

"As soon as they're in range!" shouted Justin back.

"Go for wide aim!" shouted Trini. "The ocean is only a few minutes away!"

"Roger!" yelled Justin. "Enterrans in range in five, four, three, two, one… Fire!"

* * *

No more than half a minute into the fight, Sago and the humans developed a tactic: Sago glided nearest to the water, tripping down the various aqua attacks the water Enterrans used at them; Zhane glided not far above him, shooting down the more dangerous of the attackers; and higher above Kat handled the hover in a zigzagging course, while the three passangers aimed and shot to their best ability – which was pretty impressive, considering Kat's erratic course.

Most of the stuff Sago dodged wasn't that bad really, seeing as the others already knew the more dangerous types of attackers and blew them out of the way in advance. As a matter of fact, he was rather enjoying himself. He wasn't the only one.

"He-ya!" rang Mushra's voice over the comm. "Here's to you, suckers!"

"Mushra! Watch your language!" said Emma, but Sago could tell that she wasn't really irritated, but rather amused. Truth be told, the mild-tempered Healer proved to be rather blood thirsty – and an excellent shot – when engaged in battle.

"Let the kid have fun!" laughed Zhane. Diving around a massive way thrown at them by one of the Enterrans, Zhane dropped a series of Nova balls into the water, effectively killing or stunning a decent percentage of their attacker – and soaking Sago to the bone in the process.

"Watch out!" yelled Sago.

"Sorry!" came Zhane's voice, the apology seriously marred by the human's bellows of laughter.

"Humans" muttered Sago.

"Berserkers", corrected him Carlos's voice. "Your fiery pal up here would be just as bad if we let him out"

"Trust me, I know", said Sago.

The banter was cut short, however, when all the attackers suddenly vanished.

"Now what?" wondered Sago.

"I don't know, but one thing is for certain", said Emma grimly.

"This is not good", concluded Mushra.

* * *

"Trini, are you nuts!" exclaimed Kutall. "They are catching up with us!"

"I know!" shouted Trini. "Take a look at your radar!"

"It's filled with little angry red dots!"

Suddenly, the comm board cracked.

"Have no fear, the cavalry is here!" announced a cheerful man's voice.

"TJ!" Justin sounded relieved. "What are you guys doing here!"

"Same as you", said a woman. "Folding home, and kicking butt along the way"

"We wouldn't leave our baby brother to fight alone against big, scary Enterrans, would we?" taunted another woman.

"Cassie, I'll grill you for this, I swear" mock-growled Justin.

"Are you guys gonna help us or not?" asked Trini.

"Sure thing, big sister" said the first woman.

"Call me that one more time and you're toast, Ashley", warned Trini.

That was when Kutall first saw them: three little blurs of color, descending from above straight into the swarm of Enterrans. Half the attack force was gone before they even knew what hit them. Then the three blurs rose to fly right under the hover, and Kutall got his first decent look of them.

They all rode gliders, and wore some sort of body suit/armor, each in a different solid color: TJ – the only man in the three – wore red, and the two women wore yellow and pink.

The woman in yellow waved at them.

"How are you doing?" she shouted over the wind. She was the first one who spoke – Ashley.

"Holding fine, thanks!" yelled Trini back.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Justin again.

"Folding home, same as you", replied TJ. "Thought we'd help you along"

"After all, it's safer to travel in packs" added the one in pink – Cassie.

"Where are Carlos and the others?" asked TJ.

"Somewhere across the pacific", answered Justin. "How about Tommy and Jason's teams?"

To Kutall's great surprise, TJ giggled. "Oh, I can't say too much over the comm", he said, "But let me tell you this: someone are in for the surprise of their lives"

"If they'd live after seeing it", added Cassie wryly.


	21. The Fleeing Day, last part

_Reloaded 21/09/05_

* * *

**5. The Fleeing Day**

_Last Part_

* * *

The water surface flattened. 

"Uh-oh", said Kat quietly.

"Seen this before?" inquired Zhane.

"Yes, and it's really bad"

"How bad?"

"Very"

"Aren't you gonna tell us?"

"I'm still hoping to prove wrong"

"This is so not the time to be an optimist", growled Carlos.

"If not now, then when? And show me a pink who isn't an optimist"

That was when the too-smooth surface changed. At first it was only a few flutters, but then it became obvious what was happening. A whirlpool was forming.

"Well, maybe Mr. black was right", said Kat. "I was right after all"

"So are you going to tell us what's happening, or what?" yelled Sago. He had to work hard in order not to be drawn into the whirlpool.

"Franken is coming", said Kat.

* * *

"How come you're morphed?" demanded Justin.

"Tommy decided to get the three teams back to action", said TJ.

"I thought the morphers were locked from being used against planet-made threats?"

"Melissa talked the council into it"

"She did?" asked Trini, amazed. "What happened to make them yield, after years of slaughter?"

"I don't know", said Ashley. "Andros is awfully worried about her. She hasn't been sleeping lately, and apparently she's tapping deep into the light again"

"Okay, that's bad"

"Would you care to enlighten me?" asked Kutall.

"Right", said Justin. "I think we're past introductions, and I think Tommy once explained you about Melissa"

"She's a leader of some allies of yours, right?"

"Right". It was Ashley who answered. "She's also a member of something called the Morphin' Council. The Council holds control over tools called morphers"

"Morphers enable humans to morph – very much like you guys going hyper", explained Justin.

"The Council wouldn't let us use the morphers against the Enterrans, seeing as the morphers are only supposed to be used against threats that are not from the planet they protect", continued Ashley. "I don't know how Melissa talked them into letting us use them again"

Just then, a great explosion occurred somewhere across the permafrost, sending great pillars of smoke to the sky and rocking shockwaves through the air.

"What _was_ that?" yelled Trini, trying hard to keep the hover from flipping over.

"That", said Cassie, her voice loaded with grim satisfaction, "Was Ryuma's palace going kaboom"

* * *

"Franken", whispered Sago. "King of the water Enterrans" 

"Oh _shit_", said Zhane.

That shook Sago up. "Fly high", he said. "Get out of range"

"Sago, don't be an idiot, you don't stand a chance!" shouted Zhane.

"I'm the only one who can get him!" yelled Sago back. "Now get of here, fast!"

Kat didn't need to be told thrice. She pulled the hover into a speed Sago didn't know it was capable of, and was gone. Zhane was still gliding low, though.

"I'm not leaving you alone!" he told Sago.

"You have to protect them!" yelled Sago. "Get going!"

At that moment, Franken charged upwards from the wirlpool.

Zhane made up his mind, and sped forward and up, catching up with the hover.

"Don't you dare get hurt!" he shouted at Sago. "I'll kill you if you would"

"Thanks!" yelled Sago after him, and switched his comm off. He had other matters to take care of.

* * *

"Let's go over this again", said Justin. "Tommy and the guys sneaked into Ryuma's palace, wired the place with enough explosives to rock the moon and got out in one piece?" 

"That sort of sums it up, yeah", agreed TJ, sounding awfully smug.

"Well, hell", said Justin.

"Impressive", added Kutall.

"Of course, it was only possible because you guys distracted him so nicely" said Cassie.

"Sure, we got ourselves chased by hundred of Enterrans only so you guys could take down the second king", said Justin.

"Kids, quiet", said Trini. "We'll celebrate later. Right now, I'm worried that whatever survived the blast will come hunting chasing us"

"Speed up", suggested Ashley.

"Can't", said Trini. "Too much load"

"We'll handle them when they come", said TJ firmly. "Cloaks on, you two"

"Aye, Aye, sir" said Cassie and saluted. Within a second, she, Ashley and TJ disappeared from view.

"I hate it when they does it" muttered Justin.

* * *

And Franken rose from the waters. He was tall, taller than any Enterran Sago had ever seen, taller even from Mushrambo. Underneath his crown-like hair of dark green spikes shown his eyes like two strange sapphires, for the pupils of his eyes were not black, but dark blue, the darkest navy blue could be without turning black. His robes, made in all the colors of the sea, flapped around in the strong wind. Yet it wasn't his kingly appearance than made Sago shiver and his heart beat faster. It was Franken's presence. 

Of Yakumo's three Champions, Sago was the one most tied in with his element: Water. He could sense its presence, whether in underground pools far below or in streams hidden from sight; he could tell if it was fresh or polluted; he could condense the vapors in the air, creating delicate ornaments made of tiny droplets or icicles. In short, he was aware of it in every fiber of his being.

And now, he was very much aware that Franken's rule over this element surpassed his own. Not only that, but he could feel Franken's power calling out to him, pulling Sago to join with the others of his kind. He knew, with utmost certainty, that resisting the ocean's call would cost him his strength: he could feel himself weakening already.

So he shivered, and tried hard to hold his hands from shaking or his fear from showing. This, he knew, will be no battle of blows and counterblows: this will be a battle of wills.

For long moment they hovered in midair, watching each other fiercly. Then, Franken spoke, and his voice was like the crashing of great waves on a rocky shore.

"You are Enterran", he said. "Not Human" 

"True", answered Sago. He wanted to say something smart and daring, but his lips seemed not to allow it.

"Yet you fight alongside with them, and utilize their pitiful toys"

"Those 'pitiful toys' cost many of your warriors their lives"

"Yes, they have", agreed Franken. "But I have been watching, and they were so successful only because of your help"

Sago wasn't sure what to say to that – or if saying anything was the right thing at all.

The two opponents stared at each other again, the gazes measuring.

"Do you know who I am?" asked Franken suddenly.

"You are Franken, king of the water Enterrans, one of the mighty Seven Generals"

Franken nodded curtly. "And you may be?"

"I am Sago"

"Sago, a water Enterran" The words hit Sago like a physical blow. He could feel the pull of Franken's power growing stronger for the briefest of seconds, testing him.

"I do not dwell in the water" he answered bravely.

"Ah, but you are a water Enterran. Do not deny; I've been watching, I saw you fight. You are a great warrior. Those humans by whose side you fight, they are only a liability to you. You could have carded more of my warriors if you would've fought without them. Imagine what you could do if you fought with others of your kind"

"I fight alongside with my friends", said Sago, through gritted teeth.

"Are they your friends?" challenged Franken. "Humans are no true friends to any Enterrans. They may befriend an Enterran when they have need for us. Is it not why they created us? To find a cure to an illness that killed many of their kind? We are but a tool to them, nothing more"

"Wrong" answered Sago. "Those humans are my friends"

"Are they? Are you certain there is nothing that they need from you?"

"Y…" begun sago to reply, but halted. Was he so certain? The ocean's call – which he was resisting still – was growing stronger by the second, blinding him to almost everything else. Then he remembered Mushra, up above him, and Kutall, in the far north, and Yakumo – a small child asleep somewhere, and Emma and the others too. They all depended on him. "Yes", he answered. "Yes, they are my friends"

Franken's eyes narrowed, as if he could read Sago's mind. "It's your affection for them that you think of", he said. He spoke very quietly, and yet Sago could hear him above the sound of the waves and the wind. "It's your own loyalty you draw strength from. Would they stand up for you as well?"

"Yes", answered Sago without hesitation. "They are what family I have, Franken, and you can't turn me against them". With that, he charged.

It was a brutal fight. Franken waved aside Sago's aquatic attacks as if they were nothing, and soon the two were fighting close up, their long knifes clashing loudly. Sago has abandoned his glider: in such close quarters, he was better off relying on his own flying skills.

The battle was not only brutal, but short. Having to fight of Franken in both the physical and mental planes, Sago's strength, already dwindled, didn't last long. A serious of hard blows penetrated Sago's defenses, and finally the hilt of Franken's knife hit him hard below his chin. That last blow did it, and Sago fell back in a long arch. The waves rose up to meet him, catching his body. He lay there, panting, trying to stop the world from spinning around him.

Franken landed next to him. "This should have never happened", he said. "This battle between us. I don't want to fight you, Sago, surely you have realized that: if I wanted to, I could've killed you several times by now. But I don't want to; I don't want to see you dead. I want to see you alive and well, fighting by my side"

"Never…" whispered Sago, but his voice carried very little resistance now. He was weak and dazed from the fight. Lying there, nestled gently in the water and sensing the truth in Franken's words when he said that he did not want them to be enemies, it was very hard to remember what he fought for. Still, he tried.

Franken sighed, very much like a father in front of a stubborn child.

"Why, Sago?" he asked sadly. "I'd kill you if I have to, believe me. Please, don't make me do it. You are courageous and loyal. You were born to be prince among our people, not a rebel against them"

Sago closed his eyes against Franken's penetrating gaze and outstretched hand.

Franken kneeled by his side. "You're working against your nature", he said. "Surely you can feel it? Feel the call of the waves and the great depth, imploring with you to listen? Surely you can feel the tear in your soul, growing and deepening as you resist?"

Sago groaned. He could feel the pain increasing even as Franken spoke. He nodded minutely, not even aware he did so.

"Why, Sago?" asked Franken again. "Why deny who you were meant to be? Let go; let the ocean take you. You shall be reborn from it, prince and general of out people"

"Prince?" whispered Sago. _Prince?_

Franken smiled, though Sago could not see it; his eyes were still closed. "Yes, prince", said the king. "I have no sons, no wife. You could be my prince, if you wanted to". He laid his hand to Sago's forehead. "You're burning up", he said. "You will not last much longer. Will you choose? This is such a shameful way to die, and you are an honorable Enterran. Please, Sago: for your own sake, if not for any other reason". He hesitated, than added softly: "Please. Sago, my son: I beg you to Live"


	22. Battles of Will, part 1

_Reloaded 21/09/05_

* * *

_I'm so sorry! January was a mess and I totally forgot about writing. Besides, I still didn't decide what to do with poor Sago…_

_Windflame, and everyone else trying to guess what's the big secret in this story: watch out, a large chunk of it is coming out in this update._

* * *

**6. Battles of Will: Hope and Darkness**

_First Part_

* * *

And so it was that dark clouds rose behind the hover and the three invisible humans, dark clouds that were actually swarms of Enterrans.

"You think we got him?" asked TJ conversationally.

"Even if we did, Gyasa would take over. Or someone else; Ryuma was too smart not to make plans for when he's gone"

"He's smart, but arrogant too", pointed Cassie.

"Either way, they're mad with us", said Justin.

"They'll stop chasing us before long", said Trini. "We're almost in DieHanger's land"

There was stunned silence.

"DieHanger's?" asked TJ urgently. "Are you sure? Shouldn't we be entering Rusphine's territory?"

Trini shook her head, though TJ couldn't see it across the comm. "No, we're too far north for that, I think"

"DieHanger is the king of ghosts, isn't he?" asked Kutall.

"He is", answered Justin grimly.

"I never understood what ghosts are", said Kutall.

"Let's hope you don't find out", said Justin. "Trini, why aren't you heading south?"

"It's more important we get away from all those Enterran behind us", said Trini.

"You've never faced DieHanger" said Justin vehemently. "I'd rather face a thousand Enterrans than him"

"She's right, Justin", said Ashley. "I can hold off most of what DieHanger can throw at us, but we need at least two teams to deal with what we've got behind us"

"What are ghosts?" asked Kutall again.

"You really don't know?" asked TJ.

"If I knew, would I ask?" retorted Kutall.

"Ghosts are the spirits of the dead", answered Justin shortly.

"And DieHanger controls _them_?" asked Kutall, amazed.

"It gets even worse. He can summon ghosts of humans, too" said Justin grimly. "Or inspire certain feeling in the living, pulling them out of their bodies and into his domain"

"I'd rather fight ten thousand warriors", said Kutall.

"Too late" said Cassie quietly. "Look"

Ahead of them, great pillars of smoke rose into the sky.

"Where are they coming from?" asked Kutall. "There can't be fires down there, can there?"

"This isn't smoke", said TJ grimly. "Those are the gates of DieHanger's land"

* * *

The hover shook and rattled as Kat navigated it through the clouds. Bellow it glided Zhane, his back to the hover as he covered both them and himself. Inside the hover, Emma and Carlos worked hard to restrain a very angry Mushra.

"Let me out!" he shouted. "I have to get back to him! We can't leave him behind!"

"Stop moving or we'll crash!" barked Carlos. "Piloting in this weather is't easy!"

"We left Sago behind!" roared Mushra.

"Franken wasn't going to kill him! We'll go back for him later!" shouted Emma.

"I'm not happy about it either! Now – sit – down!" Carlos pushed Mushra firmly into his seat, and Emma managed to fasten the safety harness just in time.

"He knew the risk! He did it so we could get you out of there! We will go after him! Now stop being a baby, will you?" Emma's voice rose with each work, until it was louder the Mushra's and still she raised it more. Carlos had his hands over his ears, and Mushra was staring at her.

"Stop opening and closing your mouth like that, you look like a fish our of the water", she said shortly. When his mouth remained open, she reached out and closed it for him. "That's better"

Mushra stared at her. "You just flew away. Zhane told you to, and you just did!"

"There's something I don't think you understand", said Carlos quietly. "Well, a couple of things. For one thing, Sago knew what he was getting into – in case you failed to notice, he yelled at us to get away. For another, what we're all trying to do here is save _your_ neck, as it's _your_ blood Mushrambo is after"

"What do you care!" spat Mushra. "You don't care at all! You're only here to make sure we don't kill _her_!" and he jerked his head in Emma's direction.

"Mushra, don't say such things!" said Emma. "Where did you get such ideas?"

Outraged and shaken, Mushra forgot to watch his tongue. "Kutall heard him speaking to Tommy!"

Carlos looked as if he'd been slapped.

* * *

Great pillars of dense smoke reached from far bellow up into the sky.

"The gates of DieHanger's land", murmured Cassie.

"TJ, Cassie, fly close below the hover", said Ashley anxiously. "I'm gonna shield us as best as I can, but it'd be easier if you stick close together"

"Copy" said TJ. Cassie echoed the confirmation.

"Drop cloak", said Trini sharply. "You're too close"

Cassie's pink appeared on Kutall's side of the hover. He assumed TJ's blue appeared on the other. Ashley's yellow appeared extremely close to the hover's front.

"Ashley, you do realize that I can hardly maneuver when you three are so close?" asked Trini.

"I do; if anything goes wrong, I hope it'll help you to concentrate"

"Amd if things go extra wrong, at least one of you will be either deep fried or crushed to death", muttered Trini darkly.

"I heard that", said Ashley sharply. "Don't start with the attitude, big sis"

"I warned you", mock-threatened Trini.

The gates of darkness rose right before them.

"Here goes nothing, said Ashley grimly. "Fasten your seatbelts, everybody"

As Ashley passed through into DieHanger's land, a lime-green sheet of energy appeared before her, arching backwards so it shielded the hover and the two gliders.

Around them, it was as dark as a clouded, moonless night. Inside the shield, however, there was dim light, like sunlight through dense vegetation.

"Wow", breathed Kutall. "It's beautiful"

"Thanks", said Ashley breathlessly. "But don't talk to me too much, okay? I can't spare any concentration"

"Sure", said Kutall hastily.

"It really is beautiful", murmured Justin, though he made sure to mute his comm first.

"You've never seen it before?" asked Kutall.

"And I hope I never will again"

"Why?"

"Beautiful as it is, I hope I'll never need such protection again, and that Ashley won't have to conjure it"

"Why? What is she protecting us against?"

"Despair" sid Justin simply. "Grief. Pain. There are ghosts out there, Kutall. You can't see them because Ashley's shield drives them away. Otherwise, there'd be hundreds of them flying around us: their touch and their voice are deadly, or worse, to us, and our weapons useless against them"

"Worse than death?" asked Kutall cautiously. He wasn't sure he wanted his question answered.

"Worse them death", confirmed Justin. "Their touch, should the touch bare skin, brings instant death. Should they touch cloths, the victim suffers agonizing pain before dying. It's their voice that's worse than deadly. Their cry will bring forth all your worst heartaches, fears and emotion. Should one b exposed to the voice long enough, the feelings it invokes will eat up one's very soul"

Kutall gulped. "How is she keeping them away?" he asked after moments of uncomfortable silence.

"The shield is made of pure hope"

"Impressive"

"More than you know. The air here is laden with despair and death. It – and the voices of the ghosts – eats away the shield. Ashley has to replenish it constantly"

"No wonder she doesn't want to be interrupted. It must take up a lot of energy"

"Yeah well, she's an Ejernor, and a Light Bearer; she's got plenty of power"

"Ejernor?" something stirred in Kutall's memory. "Aren't they an off-planet family? Wasn't Ashley born here?"

"She's Earthborn alright. She married into the Ejernors. So far, she stood up to the family's reputation. I hope she won't fail today"

Kutall decided to ask another question. "What's the sisterhood thing between her and Trini?"

"They're both yellow Rangers, and Trini is older"

"Rangers?"

"Those suits TJ, Cassie and Ashley wear? They're summoned with a call, pretty much like your hyperform. We call it morphing. Those who can morph are called Power Rangers, or Rangers for short"

"Oh"

"We're all Rangers", continued Justin, his voice carrying a hint of cheerfulness and a touch of pride. "I'm a blue Ranger. Kat's pink, Zhane's silver, and Carlos's black"

"How many colors are there?"

"We usually work in teams of five: red, pink, yellow, blue, and either black or green. Green can also be a sixth color, and so can white"

"What's about silver?"

"The one and only. He's with the Astro team"

"The what?"

"The teams have names. TJ, Cassie, Ashley, Carlos and I are the Turbo team". Justin stopped. "Is it just me, or is the shield glowing harder?"

"It is", said Trini. "We're almost halfway across DieHanger's land"

"How fast are we going, exactly?"

"As fast as we can", said Trini. "It's not a very big land, thank goodness"

"So we're good?"

"I hope s…"

Trini's words were interrupted.

"Dump speed!" yelled Ashley.

Justin and Kutall were rocked hard as Trini responded. The shield glowed so brightly it was dazzling.

"What's happening?" shouted TJ.

"It's DieHanger!" shouted Ashley. "Tread! Trini, shields up! TJ, Cassie, stay withing the shield! Don't leave it whatever happens!"

Shields flashed around the hover. Ashley shot forward, her energy barried gone.

DieHanger appeared.

* * *

"Ashley's in trouble" said Zhane suddenly.

"Now what?" asked Carlos. His eyes were still glued to Mushra's face.

"She's off against DieHanger"

"DieHanger's hunting them?" asked Kat sharply.

Zhane shook his head. "They took a shortcut through his land"

"Idiots!" hissed Emma.

Carlos frowned. "She's facing him directly? Is she nuts?"

"He tackled her shields – she doesn't have a choice"

"Trini and the others?" asked Kat urgently.

"Behind the hover's shields"

"They only have a minute or two", said Emma quietly. "After that, they have to fight"

"She's too far", said Carlos, frowning deeply, his eyes closed. "She says she won't make it in time"

"Damn" said Zhane, then asked sharply: "Where is she?"

A pause, in which Carlos seemed to concentrate even harder. "She won't answer", he said finally.

"Shadow and Light", said Zhane softly. "Did she ever…?"

"Never"

"Oh hell"

"What's going on?" asked Mushra; he was getting even more annoyed than he was before.

"Carlos is talking to his wife" said Emma after a brief hesitation. "She's wondering around hunting, so there was chance she's be in position to help"

"What's she hunting?"

Nobody answered.

"What?" demanded Mushra. Though he'd never admit it, the situation was freaking him out.

"Enterrans" said Carlos, suddenly and harshly. "She's hunting Enterrans"

"Carlos!" snapped Emma.

Carlos ignored her. "Enterrans killed our daughter", he told Mushra, looking him in the eye, daring him to say anything. "She was only an infant, and your kind killed her"

Mushra stared at Carlos -stunned to the point of speechlessness, for once in his life, .

"Enough, Carlos" said Emma, laying her hand on his shoulder.

"No, let him talk" said Mushra. "I want to know – I have to"

"Forget it" snarled Carlos, turning his back on Mushra. "I'm not doing anything you want me to do"

"Fine" said Mushra angrily.

"I'm trying to pilot here, in case you haven't noticed!" said Kay irritably.

"Tell it to them!" snapped Emma. If Mushra would've bothered to notice, he would've seen how agitated and pale she was, and how bright were her eyes; but he was too busy sulking.

"You talk too much yourself", said Zhane. "I just talked to Andros; he's going for Ash"

"Be quiet!" shouted Kat. The hover shook dangerously.

They didn't speak much after that.


	23. Battles of Will, part 2

_Reloaded 21/09/05_

* * *

_Here we are, another part. I'm sorry it took me so long, but frankly, I didn't know what to do with Sago: that Franken situation was unplanned. Now, though, we continue!_

_Dedicated to everyone who reviewed, with a big "thanks"; I couldn't do it otherwise._

* * *

**6. Battles of Will: Hope and Darkness**

_Second Part_

* * *

"Will you choose? This is such a shameful way to die, and you are an honorable Enterran" Franken could see on Sago's face that the younger Enterran was not far from his breaking point, and so the Water King pressed on his advantage, finishing his small speech with a nice flair: "Please. Sago, my son: I beg you to Live"

_My son…_

_I beg you to live…_

The words were as distant as the waves, as distant as his friends. Lost in the fever, Sago was torn between two sources of comfort: the cool touch of the waves, and his memories of friendship. Whenever Sago leaned into the waves, his head would explode in pain; whenever he thought of his friends, however, seizures would rock his body.

_I beg you to live…_

The part of him that longed for the ocean felt the truth in those words, knew that Franken would truly have him as his heir; the part of him that remembered the cause that brought there also remembered that Franken would kill him in a heartbeat, should he prove to be a threat.

_Sago, my son…_

It wasn't much of a choice, really. The ocean was closer and stronger, the desire to answer its call built into Sago's very body, into his most primal instincts. One last tremor passed through his body as he prepared himself, one last sigh as he blinded himself to the pain. Sago purposely relaxed his muscles, and forced his throat to unconstrict.

Franken bit his lips when he saw Sago's lips move. The Water King could sense that the younger Enterran made his choice, but he could not tell what the choice was.

"Yes", whispered Sago.

Franken's heart was fit to burst with joy. While he hoped for this victory, he also prepared himself for the chance he would have to kill Sago, a waste such as it may be. But, he would not have to: the child he longed for lay there next to him, peace written on his features as he delivered himself into his new father's care.

Franken lay his palm on Sago's forehead, brows furrowed with concentration as he called upon the water to chase away the fever and the heartache. It took only seconds for Sago's strength to rise and join his, and Franken's joy increased even more as he got this close look at Sago's talent.

_Such a great future lies before you, son,_ thought Franken, his thumb smoothing invisible creases on Sago's forehead. _You have such power, such possibilities, that you can hardly imagine._ Franken smiled proudly at his son.

Sago's eyes opened, and his smile reflected Franken's.

There was only the slightest riffling of wind, only the slightest blur of movement from the sky above, and a dagger was pressed against Franken's neck.

"How very touching", said a sarcastic feminine voice. "Now, if you'll let me…"

* * *

The noise was deafening. It was like ten thousand wings, flapping continuously and angrily, laced with angry screeches and yells, such as not even a hundred thousand birds of prey could produce. 

Kutall knew very well that no bird made the awful racket; the ghosts did. Thinking of birds and winds, however, gave him something to think of rather than the smell.

The smell was far worse than the noise; if the ghosts flapped about like thousands of birds, than they smelled like thousands of corpses – a strong, sickly, sickening stench that made Kutall's bowels turn, twist and tie themselves in knots. Kutall felt as if he would never be able to rid himself of the stench, or ever be able to eat anything: he was surprised that he didn't lose his breakfast yet.

The ghosts didn't try to touch them yet, seeing as Trini turned the shields to full power. From his back seat, Kutall could see the power meter on the hover's dashboard falling: the shields won't last much longer, and Kutall knew that the others and he will fall shortly afterwords.

Their only chance was Ashley. The lime-green light of her attacks and defenses shone and flickered in the black mist. Her opponent, DieHanger, remained hidden the mist, appearing to be just another black cloud. Kutall knew that this was not good: as long as DieHanger managed to remain hidden he was on the winning side, and that spelled death for Kutall and his friends.

Strangely, though, he did not feel beaten, or even afraid.

"Green is the color of Hope, you say?" he asked Justin; the younger man wasn't holding off very well – he was curled and shaking.

"It is". It was Cassie who answered Kutall's question. "Why, any ideas?"

"Green is also the color of the power or Earth" said Kutall, touching the gem on his forehead. "Perhaps I can help in this battle"

"The ground is so far bellow us that words can't describe", said Trini quietly. "We're so high, that you wouldn't be able to breath outside of the shields because the air is too thin"

"Ashley breathes", pointed out Kutall.

"She's morphed. A Ranger's suit will sustain its wearer even in vacuum"

"The power banks", said TJ suddenly. "Trini, let him recharge the power banks. It can buy us time, if he's right"

"And kill him if he's wrong", said Trini. Nonetheless, she instructed Kutall which panels to open and which codes to enter, until the core of the hover was exposed.

"Now what?" asked Kutall, looking at the glowing coils before him.

"Don't know" said TJ, "We've never done anything like this"

Kutall put his hands on the coils. For a split second he thought the raw energy would burn his skin – but then his gem _pulsed_, and suddenly Kutall was _inside_ the circuit, not outside of it.

The stench was gone, and the noise was considerably lessened.

Justin raised his head from his knees. "It worked?" he asked.

"Guess it did", answered Trini.

"I can't hold it for lo…" began Kutall, when something like a red lightning flashed outside.

* * *

Ashley did not like this one bit. This was not her kind of battle: not when forced to rely on her Light, anyway. As Light, she was Hope – lasting and unyielding, but almost unable to attack. Normally, she would wear out her opponent, but in this battle, time was one thing she did not have: any second, she knew, and the hover's shield would collapse, leaving her friends open to the ghosts' attacks, to which they would undoubtedly lose. Therefore, Ashley attacked, hoping against all odds. 

Once again, hope did not fail her. She knew without looking who it was who teleported to her side.

Andros stood in midair, unmorphed, arms crossed on his chest as his dual-colored hair fanned in the wind.

DieHanger ceased his attacks, openly staring at this new arrival.

"Leave my wife alone", said Andros sternly, giving the Ghost King the Look, "Or else"

"Or else?" asked DieHanger, amazed. "Or else!" He laughed, a deep and hollow sound. The ghosts laughed with him, the sound sending shivers down Ashley's spine. "Or else!" he bellowed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley noticed that the hover's shields were glowing a faint green. _What have they come up with?_ She wondered.

"Or else what, puny human?" said DieHanger, living the safety of the shadows.

"Or else you perish" said Andros quietly.

DieHanger went into a laughing fit again.

'Not very original, is he?' Thought Andros at Ashley.

'Easy for you to say' shot Ashley back. 'Wait until you went a couple of rounds with him'

'Honestly', insisted Andros. 'Why do all villains have to say the puny human line?'

Ashley smiled, almost despite herself. 'Makes you feel just like in the good old Rangering days'

'Yeah' said Andros.

DieHangers recovered from his laughter.

Husband and wife exchanged glances.

'Ready when you are', thought Andros.

'Let's do it', thought Ashley determinedly.

DieHanger hardly had time to be surprised. With twin battle cries, Ashley's green light enveloped him from one side just as Andros's red covered him from the other. Where the two sheets of light met, they became pure white.

DieHanger screamed.

The white spread, until the Ghost King was encased in a sphere of white. The orb glowed harder for a second, and then both Ashley and Andros put down their hands: DieHanger was gone.


	24. Battles of Will, part 3

_Reloaded 21/09/2005_

* * *

**6. Battles of Will: Hope and Darkness**_Third Part_

* * *

"How very touching. Now, if you'll let me…"

Even without looking, Franken knew who it must be. Only one of the humans had the skill to sneak on an Enterran king like that.

"Aren't you going to kill me?" he asked calmly.

"Should I?"

"You killed Kimilas"

"He got in the way"

"And I'm in your way now, am I not?"

If he got under her skin, she refused to show it: her hand did not tighten around the hilt of the dagger, the blade wasn't pressed harder against his skin, and her voice didn't waver.

"Different aims. That day, I came to kill. Today, I come to save"

"Save?"

"I'm here for him"

"If you're here to save him from me, save yourself the bother; I'm not going to hurt him"

"I know"

Now, that was Franken did not expect her to say.

"How very one-sided of you"

"This is war. People tend to pick a side, when in war: normally, they pick only one side"

Time to switch focus again. "Sometimes they switch sides"

She did not mistake his intention. "When I find the fool who sent him over the ocean, I'll make sure to kick them"

"Send them flowers in my name"

"I came for him"

"What do you want of him? He belongs with us!"

"Us?"

"His people"

"I wouldn't argue that point" She was predictable. Franken was almost certain he knew what she'd say next. He was not mistaken. "The question is, who are one's people? His species, or the people who would miss him?"

He felt the urge to clench his teeth. Predictable she was, but just as unstoppable. Perhaps, if he could goad some reaction out of her, he'll find the way to defeat her. Time to take risks, he decided. "You're so one sided. All you humans, you think only you have feelings"

Yes, that got some reaction out of her, though her self-control was still firm: he sensed, rather than saw, how her hand tightened around the hilt. She said nothing.

"I know why you're after our blood", said Franken quietly. "I watched, when you killed Kimilas. I know he was not your target. I saw whom you came for, and I know why. You never killed unless you had to"

"I thought you were smart, Franken. Are you seeking mercy I don't have?"

"No", said Franken softly. "What I don't have, I don't ask for"

She pulled the dagger from his neck, and set beside him.

"I should kill you just because you're too smart" she told him.

"I don't think it's your style. How do you _do_ that?" he asked irritably. "How can you sit on water as if you were one of us?"

"I will it so", she told him. "But you _are_ dangerous, Franken. Personally, I think you're the most dangerous of the Enterrans generals"

"Thank you, I guess". He looked down at Sago; he lost consciousness – again – while Franken and She discussed his fate. "You, of all people, should know why I want him". He sighed. " 'Want' is not the proper word", he added, "But I think you understand"

"I do". There was almost a note of softness to her voice.

"I gave him a choice"

"An empty choice. Lying here, on the water, wounded… You didn't really expect him to choose otherwise, did you?"

"It cannot be undone"

She put her dagger in midair, and there it remained. "It can"

"I'm afraid I don't understand"

"I'm not going to explain". She got on her feet. "I understand what you're asking, and I understand why. However, I cannot allow this"

Franken remained where he was, though he felt immensely vulnerable; which he was. "I'll fight you for him", he offered.

"You cannot win"

"I know"

"I don't wish to kill you, Franken"

"I know". He looked up at her. "They call you the Green Death. I say Green Nemesis would be a more fitting name". His smile was sad. "What a pity it is that we're at war"

"War is always such a waste", she agreed. Even behind the helmet, Franken could see that she was hesitating. "You really want him, don't you?"

He nodded. "Or I wouldn't ask", he admitted quietly.

"I can't, Franken" Her voice was still soft. "No matter how you ask or what you offer. I can't let you have him"

"Why did we have to be at war?" he complained to no one in particular. "I told him, when we fought, that you humans see us Enterrans as mere tools, to be used for your convenience. Funny, that the only human I know who treat Enterrans as equals, is the one who's known to hate us the most. I know it's not all of us you hate", he added, before she could say anything, "but the irony is striking"

"Why are you fighting for Mushrambo?" she asked him. "I'd expect one like you to oppose him"

"He's the supreme king of Enterrans", said Franken.

She snorted. "You don't like him any more than I do"

Should he answer her truthfully he would be committing an act of treason… But she listened to him, and spared his life where another would have killed him: whom should he betray, the leader whom he despised, or the rival he valued? It wasn't much of a choice, really. Franken was truthful. "Should I rise against him, the other generals would turn their armies against my people"

She considered his words, then nodded. "I'm sorry", were her last words before the hilt of her dagger struck the base of his skull.

* * *

It seemed as if they've been silent for hours. Which, Mushra reflected, it must have been, as the sun was sinking into ocean behind them.

"We're almost there", said Kat, first words she's spoken since midday. "The scanners are clear; I think we can land safely"

"Makes sense" said Zhane. "This area was abandoned so long ago, that they probably don't expect as to return here"

"Any news?" asked Kat.

"Not really" said Zhane. "The other company is still a couple of hours north of us. They finally forced Ashley into the hover, though. Apparently she fell off her glider"

"She's been married to Andros too long", said Kat. "His stubbornness rubbed off on her"

Zhane snorted. "She's always been stubborn", he said, "or she wouldn't have been able to get him"

"I wish I could communicate like you guys do", said Kat longingly. "I haven't heard from Tommy since they left"

"You would've known if anything happened to him", said Zhane.

"I know", she sighed, "But I still wish I could at least hear his voice…"

"The Rangers are back, Kat", said Zhane. "Truly back. You know what that means, don't you?"

Kat inhaled sharply. "You don't mean…?"

"I certainly do", said Zhane.

Kat sighed. "We'regoing home", she said. "All of us"

* * *

"I'm perfectly fine!" complained Ashley. She was sitting cross-legged on the hover's floor, wrapped up in a fluffy blanket.

"You fell off your glider" pointed out Justin.

"So?" said Ashley defensively.

This got a snort or a laugh out of everyone.

"Definitely your wife, Andros" said TJ. "I swear, she's worse than you are"

"She's got a mind of her own", growled Andros; he has taken Ashley's glider and joined TJ and Cassie in securing the hover. "Show me a yellow who isn't stubborn as hell"

"Hi!" said Trini.

"It's true, you know", said Cassie. "You're famous for it"

Trini said nothing, but Kutall chuckled. "Are they always like that?"

"Bantering is a respected Rangering activity" said Justin. "But the original team and the Astros are general the worst"

"Astros?"

"TJ, Cassie, Ashley, Carlos and I are the second Turbo team", said Justin, counting off names on his fingers. "Minus me and plus Andros and Zhane, they're the Astro team"

"And Trini is from the original team?"

"Right on that one. You didn't meet anyone else from her team, though"

"Actually, Justin's been on both Turbo teams" said Ashley, joining in the conversation. "Team designations aren't very clear-cut"

"I realized that", said Kutall.

Ashley giggled. "I think we're going to get along just great", she told him. "And what you did was amazing – with the force field, I mean"

"Oh, it was nothing", said Kutall, blushing and looking down. Perhaps the looking down thing wasn't a good idea, because he saw his burnt paw again.

When he touched the coils, everything was fine. After ten second or so, however, it started to hurt. Kutall clenched his teeth and kept pumping power into the coils, keeping their defenses in place even when his entire arm became numb with pain. As soon as DieHanger was defeated, Kutall released the coils as fast as he could. He lost consciousness for a few moments; when he regained it, he was no longer in his hyper-form, and his paw was heavily burned under the bandages.

"You're fools, both of you" said Justin, shaking his head, "But brave fools"

"Hi!" said Ashley, trying – and failing – to smack the back of Justin's head. "Nobody calls me a fool!"

Andros sighed so exaggeratedly that they could hear it over the comm. "I'm glad I didn't have both of them on my team"

"I had no problem with them", said TJ. "Maybe you're the weak link, pal"

"Are you calling me weak?"

"When it comes to your people skills? Hell, yeah"

"I'll race you for that one!"

Trini sighed minutely as two red strikes raced forwards. "Boys"


	25. Battles of Will, last part

_It's short, but it's better than nothing, and it ties up the chapter rather nicely, I think. No cliffhangers – I hope – but a /lot/ to chew on, hints-wise._

_Enjoy, and reviews would be appreciated, as usual!_

* * *

**6. Battles of Will: Hope and Darkness**

_Last Part_

_

* * *

_

Sago laughed, speeding forward through green and blue algae that parted as he passed. It seemed like he was swimming for hours, but he was not tired; the water contained everything he needed. As long as he stayed within them, it seemed, he would never be hurt. He was finally home.

"That's not true, you know", said a woman's voice.

Sago turned his head to look at her – and all movement stopped.

"It's not true", repeated the woman. She looked hauntingly familiar, but he couldn't place her. And that voice! He was certain he heard it somewhere.

"How can it be untrue? I belong in the water"

"You belong with your friends just as well, and right now you can't have both", she told him. "Seeing as the water wouldn't miss you, I figured I'd better come get you"

"Of course the water would miss me", he said. He could already feel it stirring around him, begging of him not to leave.

"The water would not; Franken will miss you for sure, but he's just one, against at least three who would miss you on land. And, quite frankly, you're too much of an advantage in this war"

_Franken_. The name stirred something in Sago's memory – a memory that, until now, was too blurred for Sago to notice.

"Franken… He's a king. A king of the water Enterrans" said Sago slowly. "He called me to him…"

"The ocean, and Franken" agreed the woman. "It was Zhane who decided to go over the ocean, wasn't it? I'm going to rip him limb after limb for this"

_Zhane_. Again, memories surfaced. A quick smile passed Sago's lips. "I like him, don't I?" he asked. "Zhane, that is. We're friends"

"You are", confirmed the woman. "And if I know him at all, he's worried sick about you"

Sago blinked. "Why should he be worried?" he asked. "Ouch!" His hand rose quickly to his temple as his head exploded with sudden pain. "Help me!"

"I can't" said the woman softly. "You should help yourself"

"I don't know how! I can't remember!"

The pain blinded him, and there was no warmth, no feel of movement, but suddenly she was much closer to him.

"I can't ease the pain", she told him. "What I can do is push you to the point where, maybe you can make it go away yourself"

"What happens if I can't stop it?"

"You'll burn yourself out"

The word 'burn' triggered more pain, and more memories.

"Mushra!" groaned Sago. It was a person, he remembered; one closely linked with fire and burning.

"He'll miss you too"

"Take me to him! It's not mine!" Sago didn't know where the words came from, but the seemed to be pretty important.

"What do you mean?" asked the woman sharply.

"Please…" he asked.

She sighed. "It's gonna hurt like hell" she told him.

I'm already in hell, he wanted to say, but than something seemed to reap him up from inside, and he lost consciousness.

* * *

The presence of water was the first thing he noticed. There was not sound, though, so they couldn't have been running water. A lake, he decided; a smaller body of water wouldn't have such a presence. Carefully, painfully, Sago pulled himself out of whatever depths he sank to and back into his body.

His body hurt. It felt bruised all over, and sore just as well. Slowly, Sago tested his muscles without actually moving. Nothing seemed to be broken, sprained or dislocated. How did he get like this? Memories came rushing in like a Tsunami, and Sago set up with a gasp, eyes opened.

"Careful, you're still weak" said the woman in green armor who was sitting next to him.

Sago panted, trying to catch his breath from the moment of panic. He head swam, and it was _heavy_ – looking down on his hands, Sago realized he wasn't in hyperform anymore. When did that happen?

"You reverted back to your natural form when I dragged you back to the land of the living" the woman said.

"Why… Oh, damn – Franken!" the last pieces fell into place, and suddenly Sago knew exactly what happened. "What a nightmare. You fought him for me?"

"In a manner of speaking" allowed the woman. "Slowly now!" Sago tried to push himself up, and lost balance. She caught him. "You'll have to sleep a whole lot more before you'll be up to anything again" she told him.

"Just sleep?" he asked.

"Just sleep", she confirmed. "Right now, you're not suffering from anything worse than exhaustion"

"Thanks" he said. "For everything"

She shook her head. "Don't thank me yet", she told him. "May I see your arm?"

He didn't understand her question, but he allowed her to roll the sleeve of his left forearm and examine it. Indeed, there was a hair-thin scar there.

"What's that?" he asked, even as rolled back the sleeve. "I don't remember Franken got me there"

"He didn't" she said, laying him back down; Sago allowed her to do it as he was too tired for anything else. "I did it, when I tried to heal you"

"You did it? And what do you mean, tried?"

"You're not fully healed yet", she said, erasing the creases on his forehead with a gloved palm. "You should sleep"

"Who are you?" he whispered. Her touch seemed to send him right off to sleep, but he had to know.

"Sometimes I wonder too", she said.

Sago wanted to ask her more, but her fell asleep.


	26. Ties, part 1

There, another updates. A warm welcome to all the new readers! (or new reviewers, anyway; reviews are the only indication I've got).

As for our two main mysteries (Shiera trying to kill Mushramco, and Emma/Yakumo question): they should be resolved by the end of "Ties".

* * *

**7. Ties**

_First Part_

The vast desert stretched below them, acres on acres of it. The parched land was a mesmerizing mesh of orange and shadow in the sunset light. Here and there, darker spots marked the ruins where cities and towns once were. No green was visible, no living settlements. This land, it seemed, was uninhabited by Enterrans as well as by human. Mushra had the nasty suspicion that it wasn't inhabitable at all.

"What happened here?" he wondered out loud, then bit his lip. He hadn't said a word since the raw with Carlos, and he wasn't sure what sort of reply he could expect.

"Nukes" said Zhane when no one else volunteered a response. Guessing Mushra's confusing, Zhane added: "Really nasty bombs. Make pretty large radi uninhabitable for decades"

"Did the nukes kill all the people?" asked Mushra. Tens of thousands of people must have lived in the ruined cities, if not more.

"Not many survived to that stage in the war" answered Zhane. "But of those who made it, most were evacuated"

"A lot of Enterrans died, but than again, that was the purpose" said Carlos nastily. "If the Enterrans weren't there, we would've never nukes our homes. See there?" Carlos pointed to the ruins of one specific town, right by the coast. "See that town? It's called Angel Grove. That's where we grew up and lived"

Stuff it, Mushra wanted to tell him; don't take it out on me 'cause it's not my fault. But, he reflected, it is my fault – kind of: Mushrambo's leading the Enterrans.

They've been traveling north since they hit the coast, maybe fifteen minutes ago. Angel Grove must have been some sort of landmark, though, because Kat changed course and broke right: the hover now headed east into the mainland, straight to the mountains.

The base was in the mountains, Mushra realized. Strangely, it didn't feel as if he's realized something he didn't know before, but rather as if he's just remembered something that he once knew. There was something familiar about the scorched desert, about those mountains…

_"You can't hide forever!" he yelled into the wind. "I'll tear down the mountains, if that's what it takes for me to destroy you! Come out and fight! Or are you afraid?" he poured all the hatred and mockery in his hear into the last words. Truth be told, he did not want to tear down the stupid mountain range. It would wear him down and frankly, some of those humans weren't bad fighters._

_"Demon!" he barely had time to turn around and move out of the way as she striked past him._

_"You'll need better aim than that to get me!" he called after her._

_She zoomed back up, stopping her glider not far from him._

_"You should know by now that this is not as fast as I can be", she informed him._

_"No, as a matter of fact I don't know. Why don't you show me?"_

_She came charging right at him. She was so fast that, if he hadn't triggered and expected her attack, she would've taken him by surprise. Damns meteors, she was fast! But, having baited her, Mushrambo pulled up just in time, hurling one of his infamous purple spheres at her._

_She stopped and turned around._

_"You missed", she declared._

_"So did you", he answered coolly._

_They were both lying; he knew it, and maybe she did too. Her dagger drew blood from his legs: only a few drops, but it was enough – he could already feel its magic, weakening his will. And his sphere did hurt her, tall and proud as she may stand: he could see the faint glow of it in her aura. It may not be deadly to her as it was to most, but it still hurt her badly._

_Their chances were even, and they both knew it. Up in the air, where none of their allies may interfere… Though frankly, in a battle between such deadly, devoted foes, allies were more of a hindrance than an advantage._

_Blow by blow, both warriors grew weaker as the fight went on, and still none of them was any closer to loosing or winning. Sensing that his patience would soon wear out – formidable as it was – he made another vicious dab: "Now I know where your baby got her tolerance from", he told her. "It took her hours to die"_

_She came down on him as fast as thought, a green blur of hatred and anger. She was too fast too pull aside, and so she crashed against the wall of dark purple he conjured around himself._

_There weren't a cry or a gasp. Finally dead, she fell to the ground._

"Mushra? You okay?"

Mushra's head snapped up as Emma tapped his shoulder.

"You seemed out of it for minute" she explained.

"Yeah, I'm okay" he said, which couldn't have been further from the truth. Truth was, the vision scared the living daylight out of him. It was so alive in his mind that he felt as if it just happened, as if only now he killed the unnamed woman. Even in the vision, he did not know her name: she was only an enemy to be slaughtered.

What are those visions? He wondered, thinking back to the nightmare he had: he was pretty certain that the nightmare, and not this vision, were part of the same sequence. Why am I having them? What do they mean?

Kat's statement broke his reverie.

"Brace for impact, guys", she said. "This will not be the smoothest touchdown of the year"

Mushra took a better look at their trajectory, and gasped. "Kat!" he yelped. "We're heading straight into the mountain!"

Before she had time to answer him, everything was bathed in white light and suddenly, they were inside a cavernous hanger. Slowing down, the hover slapped the track several times before it dumped enough velocity to hit the ground and stay there. For many extremely fast-paced heartbeats, everyone tried to catch their breath.

With a silver flash, Zhane and his glider appeared by the hover's side.

"What'd I miss?" asked Zhane cheerfully.

"Nothing much" said Emma.

"Just Kat trying to get us all killed" added Carlos weakly.

"Hi!" protested Kat. "Think you can do better?"

Any reply Carlos might have made was stopped as the bay's door slid open, and several humans came rushing in.

---

It was cooler. That was the first thing Sago noticed when he woke up; that, and the fact that somebody covered him with a light blanket. He opened his eyes.

It was cooler because the sun has set. The woman, still in armor, was crouched close to him.

"You were cold", said the woman, "So I covered you"

"Thanks" he said. Carefully, he tried to sit up, and was successful. "How long was I asleep"

"A few hours. Not long, but it should be enough for now. How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted, but okay, I guess. Starving, also"

"You'll have to do with field ratios". She passed him some. "The sky is too clear, I don't dare light a fire"

"It's alright", he said, tearing open one of the packets. "I'm so hungry, I just don't care"

"This one's self-heatable", she said, pointing to an orange packet. "Just sort of crush it before opening, and wait until it feels warm. And here's some water. You should drink"

"I'm not thirsty"

"Drink"

Thirst attacked him after the first mouthful, and he emptied the cantina greedily. She handed him another one without a word.

"Who are you?" he asked, putting down the half-empty cantina.

"I'm the Green Strike Ranger"

"It can't be your real name"

"It's the only one I'll give you. I'm a friend; don't worry"

"I'm not worried"

"No", she said, studying him through the black visor of her helmet. "Strangely, you aren't"

He said nothing.

"We'll move in the morning" she said abruptly. "I'll wake you before dawn, and we'll leave by first light"

"How're we going to move?"

Mutely, she pointed to the large green glider a few meters away.

"Where are we going?"

"See those mountains, there in the east?"

Sago strained his eyes. "Hardly, yes"

"That's where. Now, finish your ratios, and go to sleep already"

---

"Want some company?"

"No"

"You're going to get some anyway". Tommy flopped down on the hard rock next to Mushra. "So, you know about Karen"

"Karen?"

"Carlos's daughter"

"Oh"

"I'm sorry for keeping that from you. I really thought it would be for the best"

"Fine. No, it's not fine" burst Mushra suddenly. "I knew people died – Yakumo's parents died – but this is different. I mean, how old was she – Karen – anyway?"

"She was only two"

"Two", repeated Mushra.

"A lot of kids died in this war. You must have known that"

"I knew… But I guess I didn't, not really"

"Carlos doesn't really hate you, you know. He's just – grieving, and resentful"

"How can you be so calm about it?"

"I'm not. Not remotely". Tommy looked down at his hands. "But someone had to talk to you. There were other volunteers, naturally, but as leader I thought it was my responsibility"

"You only care because Mushrambo's interested in me" said Mushra bitterly.

"That's not true, and you know it". Tommy's voice turned very firm, almost hard. "Kat brought you guys in out of compassion as well as out of tactical thinking, but right now, it wouldn't matter if Mushrambo stood up and declared you're of no interest to him. You're our friends, Mushrambo. You, Sago and Kutall – you all are!"

"They left Sago behind!" The words burst out of nowhere, Mushra's voice echoing back from the cliffs. The pain in his voice startled Mushra; he's never quite admitted to himself how mush he cared.

"There really wasn't much of a choice", said Tommy heavily. "I believe, by the way, that Zhane is currently crying his eyes out. That is, he's locked himself in his room and would only let Andros enter. Kat's miserable, too, and Emma's in a right state". Tommy was silent for a moment. "Maybe you and Emma should talk"

"I don't think she likes me right now"

"You'd be surprised". Tommy's voice turned softer. "She needs you, in a way, and so does Kutall; and you need them, too"

"I don't understand"

"You're the ones who miss Sago the most"

Mushra blinked. "Emma?"

"I've been told they've spent a lot of time together"

"I wouldn't know, I only woke a day before we left there"

"So talk to them". Tommy got to his feet, and offered Mushra a hand. "Will you come in? It's getting chilly out here"

He was going to refuse the offer of friendship. He was not going to give in to this human so easily. He was not going to… Mushra grabbed his hand to Tommy, and together they went inside.

---

"I already know" were Kutall's first words as Mushra entered the living room of their quarters.

That was when Mushra realized that he hasn't said a word to Kutall since he arrived at the base.

"Kat told me", continued Mushra, as if he didn't notice Mushra's sudden freeze. "Zhane passed by after they finished the briefing. Wanted to explain things himself"

"Why is it that everyone are trying to make me feel like a jerk?" complained Mushra, falling into a chair.

"No-one's trying to make you feel like a jerk", said Kutall.

Mushra swore, shortly and efficiently. "I just wish there was something I could do!" he exploded. "That bloody Franken was taking down Sago, and I did absolutely nothing to stop him!"

"There wasn't anything you could do. You're barely strong enough to _walk_"

"So what? I've known Sago since I can remember!"

"Mushra, there was nothing you could do"

"**I don't _care_!**"

There was a ringing silence as both Enterrans watched the dent Mushra's fist left in the table.

The door chimed before either of them could say anything.

"Yes" called Kutall curtly.

The door opened and a brunette Mushra didn't recognize stuck her head inside.

"You guys alright?" she said. "I heard a loud… did you do that?" she asked amazedly, walking over to the table, apparently oblivious to Mushra and Kutall's stunned stares, and to the hostility radiating from Mushra. "This alloy's strong!"

"Not strong enough, apparently" said Kutall.

"Yeah, but, I mean, a morphed Ranger would have trouble making such a nice, deep dent with his fist, and we guys are _strong _when morphed". She looked at Mushra questioningly. "Did you do that?"

"Who are you?" demanded Mushra. "And a morphed what?"

She laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry, I totally forgot. I'm Ashley, yellow Astro. Hold it, you don't know about the Rangers?" Ashley looked over to Kutall.

"He just came in", explained Kutall.

"Would you rather I explain it?"

"No, it would be fine, thank you"

Ashley nodded, turning back to Mushra. "Let me see your hand" she said, taking it and turning his palm over without waiting for his answer. "Weird", she said. "Your skin isn't even red from the impact. I'll see whom I can get on this. I'll leave you two to catch up. Bye!" And she left the room smiling, leaving Mushra to stare at her back.

"She's weird"

"She faced off DieHanger", said Kutall.

"She's the one? I wouldn't believe. And what's this about morphed what-so-evers?"

"Morphed Rangers; Power Rangers" corrected Kutall. "I got sort of a lecture about them from Justin on the way here. Let's see if I remember everything…"


	27. Ties, part 2

* * *

Update. Short, but wait until you see the bombshell in the end… Probably the worst cliffhanger since Shiera tried to kill Mushra.

I do hope to start solving mysteries (as opposed to raising them), on the next update – which I hope to get out soon; real soon.

To the Israelis among you: consider this a New Year's gift.

So, enjoy everyone – and leave reviews!

* * *

**7. Ties**

_Second Part_

'He what?' thought Andros at Ashley.

'Made a dent in the living room table with his fist' thought Ashley back. 'And he's barely strong enough to walk'

Andros was silent for a moment. 'There's something really weird about him'

'No kidding', agreed Ashley. 'I mean, Shiera tried to kill him and he's the only Enterran Mushrambo ever used the Venom on. It would've been weird if there _wasn't_ anything weird about him'

'Still', thought Andros. 'You managed to talk to Emma yet?'

'I tried, but the poor thing bottled everything inside. You know how she's like'

'Zhane told you about the fight they had on the hover? After the Franken incident?'

'Yeah, he did', thought Ashley grimly. 'Carlos came really close to spilling it all out, and then we'd be in trouble'

'I don't think we're the only ones keeping secrets' thought Andros darkly.

'It's their right to keep their secrets, just like we're keeping ours'

'I'm not so sure ---we--- should be keeping secrets, but I wasn't talking about the Enterrans' thought Andros. 'I was talking about Emma'

'Emma?' asked Ashley, startled.

'Yeah. She knows something and she's not telling'

'Well, Trini did say that she's the closest to the Enterrans'

'Yeah'. Andros was quiet for a moment. 'Zhane's furious with himself for not realizing the risks of taking Sago over the ocean'

'I think he knew the risks' thought Ashley quietly, 'But knew he had to take them. There simply wasn't another way'

'It'd take him time to understand'

'I know'

'Talk to Emma?'

'I'll try again, but you'd better ask Carlos, you know'

'He's in no shape right now, and you should know it'

'Yeah'. Ashley was quiet for a moment. 'Whenever she disappeared on him before…'

'…We nearly lost her' completed Andros. 'I know. Carlos's doing all he can, and I told Karone all about. See what you can get out of Emma. She's out best bet'

'Will do'

---

She was there when he woke up.

"Good morning", she said. He couldn't tell what she was looking at through the black visor, but the helmet was tilted slightly in his direction. "Though it's not quite morning yet"

"Good morning", he answered. "Did you sleep at all?"

"This area is not safe", she said, getting up and stretching. "There's a cantina next to you if you're thirsty"

"Thanks". He gulped down the water; he had no idea way, but he was parched. "It seems so quiet here"

"It's mostly unpopulated, but there are wondering beast Enterrans. While they're not real threat, they could prove a hindrance, and perhaps alert others to out presence" she was quiet for a moment, than added: "There are also greater troops marching, and we are headed in the same direction as they. See those mountains?"

"Yes"

"That's where we're heading. Your friends and mine gathered there, and He knows it; it's the last stronghold we have left, and He knows it too"

"He?"

"You know of whom I speak"

"Mushrambo" he said quietly.

She nodded once, curtly. "Can you stand?" she asked.

He pushed himself into a sitting position, and tested his legs carefully. "Seems so", he said, "But I don't think I can walk much"

"You don't have to", and she pointed to the glider again. "It can carry both of us. Eat your ratios; I'll be back with more water soon"

---

"Nightmares?"

Mushra turned around sharply, nearly dropping the water glass.

"You scared me!" he said accusingly.

Emma shrugged, walked past him and filled herself a glass, too. "I couldn't sleep, either". She swished the water, looking at it intently, but didn't drink it.

"You're gonna drink this or what?" he demanded after a few moments passed, and she did not drink.

"I thought I may find you here", she said.

"What were you looking for me for?"

She shrugged again. "Misery loves company?" she offered.

He blinked. "What?"

"Funny how some people can grow on you"

Mushra caught himself in time, and let her speak.

"I keep remembering that morning I woke up in the couch, knowing that I never went to bed, and he was there to watch over me". A distracted smile crossed her lips. "I think we spent every possible moment together after that. It was like we reached a certain understanding or something" She blinked, twice, and shook her head. "Tommy said I should took with you – you and Kutall, that is, but I wouldn't listen. Those things always feel like they'd be easier to bear alone". She sighed, deeply, and put away the untouched glass. "But I couldn't sleep, and I couldn't stay awake in my room, and it's so big and lonely here, especially when it's still dark…"

Mushra's throat was choked, but he managed. "I've known him since always", he admitted quietly. "He was probably the best friend I ever had"

"Have you ever lost someone?" asked Emma quietly; she was still staring through the wall, as if she could see into the distance.

"No" he answered, though he felt that the answer should be 'yes'.

"I have; far too many. My sister is all I have left"

"You're not married?" the question escaped before he could remember that Kutall and Sago told him she wasn't.

"No". Something played across her lips that might have been a smile. "You guys thought I was Yakumo's mother, or big sister, didn't you?"

He stared at her. "How did you…"

"He said I look a lot like Yakumo", she answered. "The night before you woke up". She sighed. "I have an idea", she admitted, "But it's really far fetched. I didn't mention it to Sago for many reason, one was that I didn't want to raise false hopes" She waited a moment, and when he didn't answer, she continued: "I still have no shred of evidence to support this, but even false hope would be better than nothing. If…" she hesitated. "How old should Yakumo be today?"

"We think about five; that's how old she was when Dr. Tatsuro put her in cryosleep"

Emma frowned. "Was he her guardian?"

"Her father" Mushra looked at her strangely. "Why?"

"The only Dr. Tatsuro I knew was Kazuki Tatsuro. He was involved in the Enterran project – he was one of its leaders, as a matter of fact – but he never had children"

"We know that Yakumo's dad was involved in creating the Enterrans… Hold on a sec", said Mushra suddenly. "Why the past tense?"

"Because", said Emma levelly, "Kazuki Tatsuro disappeared three years ago. He was present at the sight on an attack, but his body was never found, and so he was presumed dead". She hesitated, then added: "It was the same attack at which Karen supposedly died. Her body was never found, either". She licked her lips, and finished: "She was two years old. She'd be five today, if she lived"

* * *

_Don't say I didn't warn you._


	28. Ties, part 3

This is the one-before-last part of "Ties". In the next one, the biggest bombshell _ever_ will be dropped as one unlikable character comes back into play, and the identity of Yakumo/Karen's mother is revealed. Trust me, you want to be there when it happens.

* * *

**7. Ties**

_Third Part_

"Because", said Emma levelly, "Kazuki Tatsuro disappeared three years ago. He was present at the sight on an attack, but his body was never found, and so he was presumed dead". She hesitated, then added: "It was the same attack at which Karen supposedly died. Her body was never found, either". She licked her lips, and finished: "She was two years old. She'd be five today, if she lived"

The klaxons blared off, silencing any reply Mushra might have given.

"What the…?" he sputtered, but Emma was already running.

"Enemy in range!" she yelled behind her shoulder.

Mushra grimaced. He had no chance of running – he knew he wasn't strong enough – but he walked after her as fast as he could. Lucky for him, he could hear her steps around the corners, and so he managed to follow her to the Command Center, were other humans were already assembled.

A tall black man raised his head from the console. "We're not going to be attacked for at least two hours", he told Tommy. "We've got enough time to prepare"

"We didn't even split the teams yet", said Tommy, frowning. "And I did the morphers count…"

"I know", said the black-skinned man. He looked over Tommy's shoulder and smiled. "Hi Mushra"

"How do you know my name?"

"Carlos and Zhane mentioned you in the passing" said TJ wryly.

"Hi Mushra" said Tommy looking over his shoulder and smiling tiredly. "Come over here if you wanna see"

Mushra stepped forward to the panels. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Mushrambo is moving his troops. We've got Insectoids coming in from the south, Bird People from the north, and Mushrambo is leading the Beast Enterrans from the east. The first troops will be here in a few hours. It gives us time enough to prepare"

All the while, humans kept pouring in. By the time Tommy finished speaking, the current stopped, and Mushra assumed everyone arrived. He did a quick head count – nineteen humans, Kutall and himself.

"Split up, folks" said Tommy.

Mushra opened his mouth to ask – but one of the humans spoke first.

"First Five, to me", he said. Four of the humans – one of them Trini – walked over and stood behind him in formation.

"Zeo Team, to me" said Tommy. Another three went to him – of them, Mushra recognized only Kat.

Two dark-skinned women in yellow shirts looked at each other, then at Tommy.

"Your team, your call" said one of them.

Tommy bit his lip.

"Aisha", he said finally. One of the women walked over and joined Tommy's team.

The black-skinned man from before tossed the other woman some small object, and another one to Justin. "You have those", he told them: "I'm fighting as Astro"

Justin saluted to him and smiled. Both he and the woman in yellow put the small devices on their wrists.

A man with striped hair was next. "Astro Rangers" he said. Five walked to him, including Carlos, Zhane and Ashley.

Tommy nodded. "Andros, you and your team are best in the air; take Rusphine's lot"

The striped-hair man nodded.

"Jason, get the Beast People"

The one who called for the First Five nodded.

"You got it, bro", he said.

"Zeos will take the Insectoids. Justin, you're with me; Tanya – go with Jason". Tommy turned to Emma, the only human who wasn't assigned to a team. "I want you to watch over the comm."

She nodded mutely, and almost imperceptibly.

Tommy turned to Kutall. "Pick you team", he told him. "You know better than I where you can help the most"

Kutall hesitated, then said: "I'll go with the Astros"

"Andros, brief him if you want" said Tommy. "Briefing's over, people. Next briefing in 90 minutes"

"What about me?" asked Mushra.

Tommy looked at Emma.

"You'll have to stay with me", she said quietly.

"But I don't…"

Emma shook her head.

"Sorry, kido", said Tommy gently. "Emma's the healer so she's the boss. If she says you don't fight, than you don't fight"

The room cleared out while they spoke; only the three of them remained.

"Tommy, I need you to call Karone", said Emma, ignoring Mushra.

"Sure, but won't it be easier…"

She shook her head. "They're bound to get suspicious, and I don't want to raise their hope for nothing"

"What are you talking about?"

"Promise me you won't tell he… the Astros"

"Okay", said Tommy skeptically.

"Karen may be alive"

Tommy stared at her.

"Look, I understand why you want to…"

"I mean it, Tommy", said Emma fiercly. "The girl the Enterrans mentioned – Yakumo – it may be her. The ages fit; they even say I look like her"

Tommy turned sharply to Mushra, who nodded.

"What about Dr. Tatsuro, though?" he asked.

Emma shrugged. "They disappeared at the same time", she said. "And we all knew Karen was a target, because she was… because of her parents and because of the pendant; so maybe Kazuki adopted her and went into hiding to protect her"

Mushra stared. "Did you say pendant?"

"Yakumo had a pendant?" asked Tommy sharply.

"Yeah. It was supposed to have special powers…"

"That settles it", said Tommy. He turned back to Emma. "I'll get Karone, but I don't know how much she can do"

"She can be prepared", said Emma. "We'll need her before this is over". And she left.

"Wait, Emma!" called Mushra.

Tommy put his hand on Mushra's shoulder, effectively nailing him to the spot.

"Leave her be for a while" he said. "That's a hell of a shock she must be in right now". He released Mushra only after Emma went out of both view and earshot.

"Be at the next briefing", he told Mushra as he turned for one of the doors. "See you in 73- no, 72 minutes"

* * *

"Did you say something?" asked Sago. It was hard to hear anything over the wind.

"I said, damn", answered the Ranger. "They're too close"

Sago didn't have to ask whom.

"How long?" he asked.

"Maybe an hour"

"Will we make it?"

"Maybe, but just"

"Can't we glide faster?"

"Not with you unprotected, we can't"

"I can always…"

"You will _not_ go into hyperform", she said firmly. "You're not fully healed and it's not worth the risk"

"I'm feeling okay" he objected.

She snorted so distinctly that he could hear it over the wind. "Expect for the dizzy spells, the nausea, and the weakness, you're just fine"

"How did you - ?"

"I'm not a healer for nothing"

"Even Emma couldn't tell what Mushra was feeling without her crystals"

"I'm not Emma", said the Ranger. It might have been the wind, but he thought her voice changed. "Now, if you want to get there in time, shut up and let my navigate"

* * *

"Kutall!"

Andros and Kutall raised their heads from the panel they were working on. Kutall looked at Andros.

"We're through here anyway", said Andros. "See you at briefing – one hour"

Kutall nodded, and went to Mushra.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Come here" Mushra dragged him into the corridor. "We may have found Yakumo"

"What?"

"Well, not really find her, but…" he explained Emma's idea.

Kutall's brows shot up.

"A little far-fetched, no?" he asked.

"It makes sense" shrugged Mushra. "Yakumo was very little, it's natural she won't remember much, and if Dr. Tatsuro raised her… And the pendant, Kutall! It's definitely the same pendant, I asked Emma about it"

Kutall nodded. "That settles it, then"

"Yeah". They were silent for a moment. Then, Mushra said: "I'm glad you didn't tell them about Mushrambo"

"We'll have to tell them, though"

"Only after we save Yakumo", said Mushra, "Or they won't trust us. Hi", he said suddenly, "If we save her, do you think Carlos won't hate us so much?"

"He doesn't hate us", said Kutall slowly. "Enterrans in general, yes, but not _us_ – you cannot hate someone you know"

"I hate Mushrambo" said Mushra vehemently, "And you can't say I don't know him"

"None of us know him", said Kutall. "Until we were sent here, we didn't even know that he was the seventh General – we didn't know he led the war against the humans…"

"I know him", repeated Mushra, more quietly. "I – I've been having flashbacks, of things that happened, or will happen… and I see them through his eyes"

"Really now. What have you seen?"

"Not much", Mushra looked away, "And most of it don't make sense. But there was one scene – he and a woman in green body armor were fighting over the mountains – where we're now – and he killed her"

"Body armor?" Kutall wondered, "Perhaps a Ranger – their suits look like body armor – but there the only green Ranger I've seen today was a man. They're always wearing their colors", he explained Mushra.

Mushra bit his lip. "Look, she was definitely a woman"

"Do you remember her name?"

Mushra shook his head. "He never knew it, and never cared for it. Maybe she wasn't a Ranger?"

"If she was human, she was a Ranger", said Kutall simply. "They're the last ones on Earth. The others are either dead or they fled to other planets"

"Emma isn't a Ranger", pointed Mushra.

"And she doesn't wear green" countered Kutall.

"Damn. Maybe we should ask…"

"Only if you want to explain your visions", said Kutall wryly. "Rest assured that they'd ask"

"Double damn"

"Indeed"

Pause.

"How long?" asked Mushra abruptly.

"Fifty minutes"

"I'd better go catch some sleep", said Mushra reluctantly. "I'm still very tired"

Kutall's eyes moved from Mushra's neck to his shoulder. "Those haven't closed yet?"

"No", Mushra shook his head.

"Maybe you should ask Emma"

"Maybe. I think I'll go sleep though"

"Sweet dreams, then"

"I'd rather not dream at all". Mushra raised haunted eyes to meet Kutall's. "In all my dreams, I'm Him"__


	29. Ties, last part Yakumo's mother reveale...

This is it, guys. The moment you've all been waiting for.

Please don't flame me too bad.

---

**7. Ties**

_Last Part_

---

"Okay, guys", said Tommy. He spoke very quietly, but his voice carried around the room easily enough. "Twenty minutes to go. The situation in general remains the same – incoming from three directions – but Rusphine's troops are much larger than we thought before. It seems that she emptied her city. It means the Astro team will have to be reinforced. No offense, Andros"

"None taken" replied the striped-hair man promptly. "I don't like loosing much. Who're you giving me?"

"Me, probably", said a petit, sweet-faced brunette.

"Right on, Kim. You're the best shot we have"

"I'll do my best" she answered honestly.

"That would be all, guys. Everyone to the ready rooms and may the Power protect you"

---

They lost height without warning, the glider dropping like a stone. Sago didn't even have time to shout his surprise before they landed inside a crevice.

"They're too fast, damnit!"

"What happened?"

"Enterran troops deployed all around the stronghold, and are patrolling the sky"

A stone dropped into his stomach. "We can't go through undetected"

"Precisely". She jumped off the glider and started pacing and the small space they had. "I don't mind them detecting me – it might actually be a good idea – but I did not snatch you from Franken just so you'd be killed in the crossfire of Armageddon"

"Arma-what?"

"Armageddon: really weird way to say doomsday"

"Oh". Doomsday he could understand, even if he never heard the expression before. "Why would it be good if they detected you?"

"If only I could teleport you through" she said, ignoring him completely, "But the shields are set on high, I don't dare to try and punch through…" she stopped pacing and dropped on a stone. "We'll be here for a while", she told him, "Until I can figure something out"

"Why would it be good if they detected you?"

"It'd draw fire to me", she said simply. "I'm a worse threat than the rest of the Rangers put together"

She said the last sentence in such an emotionless tone that sent shivers down his spine. A voice full of hatred would've been less chilling.

"You could get killed", he pointed out.

She shook her head. "There's only one powerful enough to kill me", she said, "And He isn't here yet. I would've known". Sago could almost hear the word she didn't say: _pity_.

"So we wait?" he asked.

"We wait", she confirmed.

---

"Tanya, boogey at 7 o'clock!"

"Justin, watch the boulder!"

"Kutall, if you cut course like this one more time…!"

"He was saving Cassie's back so shut your mouth!"

It was the single most nerve-wrenching experience in Mushra's life: sitting like that, without saying a word, listening to the comm and being unable to do anything to help – whether Kutall and the others, who were risking the lives out there, or Emma, who worked furiously at sensor boards he understood nothing of.

"Newsflash, guys", she said suddenly, flipping a switch. "Mushrambo is not here"

More voices cried "What!" than Mushra could identify.

"Are you positive?" asked one of the voices.

"Quadraple-checked and cross-checked from all arrays", she said. "He's not here"

"Good news or bad news?" wondered someone; Kat, he recognized the voice.

"Right now, good" answered someone else, "When this fight's over? Bad"

"Incoming!" yelled a voice. "Watchit, Rocko!"

"Thanks!"

And the battle continued.

Emma glanced in his direction. "Frustrated?"

"Yes", he answered through gritted teeth. "I wish I could…"

Pain exploded behind his eyes.

---

"Okay, that's it". She jumped to her feet. "We're not staying"

"They're still fighting", pointed out Sago; they could hear the fighting from the crevice, though they were too far to see anything clearly.

"I know. Close your eyes for a moment, will you?"

"Why?"

"Just do it, and don't open them until I tell you to"

He hesitated, not liking the idea at all, but eventually did as she asked. He heard her mutter "Power Down", and light flashed, clear enough that it penetrated his closed eyelids. A few seconds later she said "Green Strike!" and light flashed again.

"You can open your eyes", she said.

He opened them.

She strapped a device around his wrist.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Communicator. It can carry one person through the stronghold's shields – but only one"

He understood. "Thanks", he said. "And… take care"

"Thank you" she said, but the words were forced._ She lives only to fight_, Sago realized with a start. "You too. And… tell them…" she shook her head. "They would know"

He wanted to ask "_Who?"_ but she pressed something on the communicator, and light enveloped him from all sides, carrying him away.

---

"What - "asked Emma suddenly, but before she could say anything more, a column of white descended from the ceiling, dropping Sago unceremoniously on the floor.

"Sago!" Mushra and Emma moved at the same time, hugging Sago with so much force that he almost choked.

"Guys!" he managed to sputter, but they let go only when they were satisfied that he was really there.

"How did you escape?" asked Mushra; Emma was simply glowing.

"I didn't", answered Sago honestly. "Some woman who called herself Green Strike Ranger rescued me"

"There's a female green?" asked Mushra. Emma said something, too, a single word, but he didn't catch what it was. Sago, however, gave Emma a sharp look, which Mushra missed as well, because Emma asked him sharply: "How did you know about a female green?"

_Shit!_ Thought Mushra.

"How?" demanded Emma. "What meaning does this have to you?"

Mushra took a deep breath – and decided that partial truth was better than a lie. "I had a vision", he said. "Of Mushrambo killing a female green Ranger" Now that he's seen morphed Ranger, he knew that the woman from his dreams was indeed a Ranger.

Emma stared. "In the hover", she said, "Before we landed; when you spaced out"

"Yes" dragging the word out of his throat was hard. "Why is this so important?"

"No" said Sago hoarsely. He was looking straight at Emma, and seemed to have missed the exchange completely. "She can't be…"

"She is", said Emma.

"So that's why she wouldn't tell me…"

"Yes"

"Why'd she save me, than?"

Emma shrugged. "One of two reasons: either she didn't want you in Franken's hands… or she did it for me"

"What's going on here?" demanded Mushra.

"Hold it" Sago blinked, apparently just catching in to what Mushra said a moment ago. "Mushra, did you say…?"

"…That he saw her in a vision", confirmed Emma. Slowly and sadly, she said: "I've known for two days now, Sago; there's no need to hide it from me"

He stared at her. "The gems; they're what gave us away"

"That, and Shiera trying to kill him. She's never wrong, you see"

"What's going on?" shouted Mushra. He yelled hard enough for his ears to ring – but Sago and Emma were still staring at each other.

"We both lied, didn't we", said Sago, voice strained, "When we said we have no more secrets"

"We did", agreed Emma lowering her eyes. She took a deep breath, and raised her eyes again, looking straight into Sago's. "Truth?"

"Truth" said Sago.

Emma turned to Mushra. "I know about the three of you and your gems", she said. "I know about your connection to Mushrambo. I found out two days ago, and I told no-one"

"Why?" asked Mushra. "Why didn't you tell?"

"Because it was your secret to keep, and not mine to tell", she said. She turned her head, her face contracting momentarily with pain. "I'm sorry", she said, "For all that it's worth, Sago, try to remember that"

"I will", he said. "Not that you have anything to be sorry for"

"Don't I?" she turned back her head and looked at him. A single tear fell down her cheek. "You heard and understood, even if Mushra missed it, when I let slip her name a moment ago"

"I have", he confirmed.

Mushra was demanding answers, but Sago and Emma didn't even hear him; this was a matter of trust, and it was between them.

"She's your sister, isn't she"

"Yakumo's mom a Ranger?" asked Mushra, even as Yakumo said: "She is".

Sago paled. "What did you say?" he asked. "Did you just say that… that Emma's sister is Yakumo's mother?"

"We think she is", said Mushra. "Emma's sister is married to Carlos, and they have a daughter at the right age, and she disappeared three years ago, at the same attack as Dr. Tatsuro. And Emma do look… Sago?" Suddenly, Mushra realized that Sago looked shocked enough to collapse. "What's wrong?"

Sago had gone deathly white. "_She_ is Yakumo's mother?" he asked. "_Shiera_ is?"


	30. Battle of Wills II: part 1

Sorry for the wait, guys. I know the suspense was killing you. This chapter won't help much, I'm afraid – unless any of you were wondering how Kutall was faring in the battle, in which case you'll get an answer to your full satisfaction.

I've been trying to upload this chapter since yesterday, but wouldn't let me login for some reason

You're also invited to check out my new homepage (seeing as I finally got down to making the thing):  
(and if the link is giving you problems, or if quickedit ate it up,you can try from my profile page).

* * *

**7. Battle of Wills II: Human against Enterran** _First Part_

They would fight hilariously, but they would lose. Kutall knew that as soon as he set eyes on the plain, filled with Enterrans: his people, his enemies.

"Doubts?" asked Andros.

Kutall started; the human managed to sneak up on him.

"Not really", he answered, after a while. "Only sadness"

"That". Andros shrugged. "Humans and Enterrans should have never come to war. Everything went well for the first few years"

"Do I need to ask what went wrong?"

"I think you know the answer already"

"So I thought"

"Andros!"

It was Ashley, standing at the hangar's doors. Her forehead was wrinkled against the sun, and the wind was whipping back her hair.

"It's time," she told them.

* * *

Fifteen minutes into the battle, Kutall still didn't know if they were winning or loosing. On the one hand, they managed to take down more Enterrans than he imagined possible; on the other, he could tell that his comrades were growing tired. More than once a Ranger was saved from death only by virtue of a friend's shout – and Kutall has had his share of luck as well. He knew it would not last forever. They were good, they were powerful – and their enemies were too many. 

Jason's team was too far for Kutall to follow; from what he heard on the comm, though, none of them was down – yet. Tommy's team, down south, were in trouble – the Insect People were tough, and every now and then one of the Zeo Rangers would get a nasty hit; so far they got up, but Kutall was beginning to worry: to judge by the urgency of Tommy's voice, so was he.

Kutall's team was having the best fight so far. Rusphine had sent the most warriors – though Kutall haven't spotted her yet – but the Astro Ranger's maneuverability surpassed that of the Bird People – and Cassie and Kim had an enemy down with every shot. Judging from the banter, all pink Rangers were snipers: Kutall made a mental note never to anger Kat.

"Incoming!" called Justin suddenly.

Ducking a fireball, Kutall dared another look south – something flashed, fast, low above the battleground, and suddenly a male voice Kutall didn't recognize yelled: "It's Shiera!"

Kutall's heart nearly stopped at that, and TJ had to bodily knock him out of the course of an incoming attack.

"Thanks!" shouted Kutall – at the speed they were moving, and with the noise of the wind, nothing less of a shout could be heard.

"Just don't do it again!" answered the blue Ranger. "It's too damn early to start losing teammates!"

"No one's losing teammates!" barked Andros.

"Just an expression, Andros!"

"TJ, take your own advice!" yelled Ashley.

Th dived and Kutall soared, taking down the offensive Birdman before spinning out of the way of another attack – there were so many feathers in the air it was hard to see anything.

"Can anyone get Shiera?" Tommy's voice drowned all the others. "I can't get either her or Emma!"

"Shiera!" it was Carlos' voice, complying promptly.

"Billy, how about a comm check?" Justin's voice.

"On it!"

"Command Center, come in!" Tommy again.

"Shiera!" Ashley's voice had joined Carlos'. "Shiera!"

"Kim, left wing, fast!"

"Command Center, come in!"

"Jason, behind…!"

"Thanks, bro!"

"Shiera!"

"Trini, get the hell out of there!"

"Command Center, come_ in_! Emma, Mushra, where _are_ you?"

"On it!" yelled Billy's voice. "Justin, specs!"

"In a minute!"

"Andros, cover me!"

"Zhane, I'm going to _kill_ you!"

"Make sure I survive first!"

The tide was turning; Shiera's arrival – Kutall couldn't see what color a Ranger she was from the distance – had taken the heart out of the Insect People: they folded back, away from her – not that it helped them much. Their lines were growing thinner _already_, and Shiera was in for not much more than a minute.

The other Enterrans were finally realizing that something was wrong. Not having the advantage of instantaneous communication, those who were far from the south front took time to notice the incomer.

"Green Death!" he heard them shouting to one another. "It's the Green Death!"

Even in the heat of the battle, Kutall gulped._ Mushra's dream. _Kutall did not feel much for the woman who tried to assassinate his friend, but he was not one to lose a valuable ally, either. _We'll have to tell them. We've kept this secret long enough. They'll just have to understand._

Several companies of Birdpeople started south – Kutall didn't even try to stop them: Zhane was swooping down from above. In less than three seconds, the silver Ranger crashed right into the middle of the largest companies, and was weaving through them merrily; Kutall could tell that Zhane was having a great time – his verbal barbs were audible over the comm.

"Command Center!"

Kutall's heart tightened; neither Shiera nor Mushra or Emma answered the now-frantic hails. There was just no way that this could be good.

"Tommy, the Command Center wasn't breached!" Billy's voice. "Justin and I went over the data three times! It's safe!"

"Than why aren't they answering!"

"I don't know!" yelled both blue Rangers simultaneously, exasperation evident in both their voices.

"Guys!" This was Zhane's voice, and he sounded urgent and – was this fear? "She doesn't have her communicator! Shiera isn't wearing her communicator!"

Kutall's sensitive ears contracted against the sudden assault of obscenities yelled by, it seemed, every Ranger on the battlefield.

"Adam, do you even know what half these words mean?" asked a curious woman's voice when the explosion started to die out.

"Funny you should ask, seeing as I learned them from you!" was caustic reply.

"Zhane, can you glide close enough to her?" Tommy again.

"Doesn't look like it! She's almost at her full speed and I'm no match for her!"

"No-one is", whispered Tommy's voice, laden with sorrow and grief; Kutall doubted that anyone save himself heard that.

"Let's win this battle, folks!" This was Jason's voice, loud and enthusiastic. "Now that we can actually do that!"

"You mean it was impossible before?" Trini's voice – but the yellow Ranger sounded amused, more than anything.

"Not in a lifetime!" it wasn't just Jason who answered her – Kutall could distinguish at least half a dozen different voices.

Then things went wrong again. All the while they fought, fresh Enterran forces kept pouring into the fight. Now, Kutal recognized one of the incoming Enterrans – and he rather wished that he had not.

"Daku!" Kutall thundered, for everyone to hear. "King Daku is here!"

"Kutall, you fought him before?" Andros' voice.

"Yes!"

"So why are you still here? Get down there!"

Not that Kutall needed to be _told_ that; he was diving south before Andros had three words out of his mouth. Zhane was heading for Daku as well, and so was Zeo red – Tommy. The rest of the south front Rangers – the remaining Zeos and Shiera – were still busying themselves with the body of the Insect army.

"Land Crusher!" roared Kutall as soon as he was withing range. The ground shook and opened up, taking many Enterrans with it – but not Daku; the Insect King managed to leap aside.

"Warn me next time, damn it!" shouted Tommy, sounding amused as well livid.

"Consider yourself warned!" was Kutall's only reply before trying – and failing – again.

Zhane has made it to Daku – and was swatted aside so powerfully that he crashed against the earth.

Up above them, Andros cursed.

"Watch your tongue!" snapped Ashley. "And your _back_, you bitter old grouch!"

"Who you're calling old?"

"So you're not denying being a grouch?"

Meanwhile, Tommy has reached Daku as well. While he managed to distract Daku nicely enough – giving Zhane time to revive, seeing as Daku pounded him into the ground rather well – it also meant that Kutall couldn't use his more destructive attacks seeing as the red Zeo was not airborne. Taking his aim carefully, Kutall prepared to try again –

- and Daku sent Tommy reeling in air, in an arch so high that Kutall didn't know how the human will survive the fall –

The only warning Kutall ever got was a shout of "Watchit!" before something _whooshed!_ past and the side wind nearly knocking him out of course.

Shiera caught Tommy several meters above ground; Kutall had no idea how, because the red Ranger had to be at least twice Shiera's weight.

"We meet again", said Daku.

Shiera's snort could be heard even from behind the helmet. "I'd say that you made my day", she said, "But you haven't – yet". Her hand flicked, so fast that Kutall almost doubted it – but then Daku cried out and collapsed, his legs crumbling beneath him.

"Serves you right", said Shiera coldly, as white mist ate up Daku's body from inside. Kutall counted – Daku's death took twelve excruciating seconds, and then the Enterran King and General was gone.

Not even an encard was left.


	31. Battle of Wills II: part 2

_Well guys, here's another udate, and this one's of a more decent size than the previous ones - though i'll doubt it'll leave you more satisfied, as it's just more questions and hardly any answers._

_Read, enjoy and review!_

* * *

**7. Battle of Wills II: Human against Enterran**_Second Part_

Daku's demise had, effectively, terminated the battle. It took the heart out of the Enterran fighters, and they withdrew from the battle. The humans did not pursue them – the three red Rangers gave that command simultaneously: the battle would be ended another day. Meanwhile, they gathered around the smoldering spot that was where Daku fell.

Kutall was so shocked, still coming to grips with the sheer ease with which Shiera achieved – who _was_ she, to kill an Enterran King so easily? – that he missed the beginning of the second fight.

"No", said Shiera firmly.

"We need you", said Tommy.

"I'm not abandoning you. But I'm not coming to the Command Center, either"

"Why not?" this was Carlos, his voice barely above a whisper and laden with pain.

"I will not sleep under one roof with the murderer of my daughter"

"_Our_ daughter"

The ground dropped from underneath Kutall's feet. _She…?_

Tommy may have tried to say something, but was blocked by Shiera's reply to Carlos: "Some way you have of showing that"

Carlos' face was hidden behind his helmet, but his body language gave him away: had Shiera kicked him in the stomach, she would have hurt him less.

"Shiera!" snapped Zeo blue.

"None of your damn business, so stay out of it, Rocky"

"Shiera - " began Tommy.

"You too!" Shiera's hands clenched into fists: "I've had enough! No more! This war lasted long enough, we've suffered _enough_, we've_ lost_ enough – no more! I'm going to win this war, do you understand?"

Carlos has stepped forward, reaching out for her with both hands wide open, as if offering to hold her. "Shiera - "

"No!" she pushed him away, so violently that he flied back and landed several meters away. Several Rangers took a step back. "I've had _enough_. I can't live like this anymore, don't you understand? I'm going. I'm going to _end_ this – one way or the other". And before anyone could say anything or, indeed, move, she jumped on her glider and was gone.

"Power down" Having demorphed in a shower of silver sparks, Zhane walked over to Carlos and kneeled by him. "Carlos?"

"Power down" The words were muttered, whispered or said plainly as nearly every Ranger demorphed, and Kutall reverted down from hyper form as well.

Carlos, too, demorphed. He did not resist when Zhane hauled him up, but looked away when Zhane turned his chin so that they faced eachother.

"Carlos?" asked Zhane again, gently. Ashley took a cautious step in their direction.

It started as a tremor but within seconds, Carlos' entire body was shaking violently against Zhane's. "She's gone", he said, brokenly. "She's gone"

"She always comes back", said Ashley softly, coming closer now. "She always comes back to you"

Carlos tried to shake his head, but it wasn't working well, what with the shivers raking his body. "Not this time. This time, she's going the whole way. You heard her"

"No". This was Tommy, staring, shocked. "_No_. Carlos, tell me she didn't mean that"

"But she did"

"No!" The sudden haul seemed to unnerve all the humans. Tommy punched a nearby rock, immediately nursing his now-bleeding hand. "Not now!"

"What happened?" asked Andros sharply.

"Karen", said Tommy. "Karen may be alive"

Carlos straightened suddenly, shakes lessening for a moment. "What?"

"It's just a suspicion. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to raise your hopes for nothing, after all these years. I told Karone – but no one else. Only Emma and Mushra knew"

"Emma and Mushra?" asked Andros skeptically.

"Emma was the one who brought it up. And Mushra was there"

"I knew, too" added Kutall. "Mushra told me"

"How…?"

"Not here. Not now", said Zhane firmly. He maneuvered Carlos' arm behind his shoulders, and was half-carrying the other Ranger.

"Agreed" said Tommy. "Command Center, everyone. We'll finish it there"

-

Ops was empty.

"What…?" breathed several voices.

Billy and Justin went for the counsels, shifting controls and speaking quietly among themselves.

"Emma and Mushra weren't answering because they weren't here", said Kat unnecessarily. "But why?"

"Maybe something happened to Mushra", suggested Trini. "Emma would have to take him to the infirmary"

"They're not there" said Justin shortly. "Emma is in her room. Mushra is wondering below decks"

"Justin, have a look a that", asked Billy suddenly.

"Guys", said Adam quietly, lifting something from the floor. "Look"

It was a wrist communicator: a green-banded wrist communicator.

"Shiera's" breathed Ashley. "That's why she didn't have it on her in battle"

"But how did it get here?"

"She gave it to Sago" said Justin abruptly.

"Wha…?"

"The sensors are picking up his biosignature. He's at the hangar, of all places"

"Hi, were are you going?" asked someone.

Kutall turned. "To Sago", he said simply, and left.

-

The large doors hissed as they slid open, and closed again.

"Sago?" asked an uncertain voice.

"Here" said Sago, having recognized Kutall's voice.

The large feet padded across the cavernous hangar, walking directly to where Sago's voice had come from. Sago shifted in his corner, and Kutall set down next to him.

"I'm glad you're alive"

"Thanks"

"Why here?"

"Aren't you going to ask how I survived Franken?"

"I presume Shiera"

"Yes". Sago shifted again. "I didn't know where to go, and I didn't want to stay in Ops"

"Why didn't you go to quarters? Weren't Mushra or Emma there to show you the way?"

"They were there. When I arrived, anyway"

"What do you mean, when you arrived? What happened?"

"Shiera", said Sago. "She's Yakumo's mother"

Despite having realizing that at the battle ground, Kutall's stomach still dropped at the words.

"I know", he admitted quietly.

Sago started. "You did?"

"She and Carlos had a row after the battle. She said something about her daughter, and Carlos said she was their daughter". Kutall looked down. "Emma said, before, that she think Carlos' daughter – they named her Karen – may be the same person as Yakumo". Quietly, Kutall repeated the rest of Emma's theory to Sago. "What I don't see is how Emma fit into this"

"Shiera's her sister", said Sago.

"I see"

There was a lengthy pause.

"She rescued me from Franken; how, I do not know. But she did". Pause. "I didn't know it was her. She was inside this armor - "

"Morphed", said Kutall.

"Sorry?"

Kutall shook his head. "Never mind", he said. "I'll fill you in later"

Sago looked at him curiously, but continued with his story. "She was – morphed? – all the time, so I didn't realize it was her. We traveled here on her glider. She was – nice, I suppose, if a little stiff. We couldn't make it both to this base because the battle got in the way, so she gave me her communicator and teleported me back in". Sago paused. "Is she alright?", he asked.

"I think so. She killed Daku - " Sago started " – and then took off. She and Carlos had a row before she left – he seems to be taking it badly". Kutall paused. "Tommy didn't get to tell her that Karen is alive. He and I were the only ones present who knew"

"This is bad, Kutall", said Sago. "This is all so bad". He sighed. "Everything came out seconds after I arrived here. Emma ran off, crying, and Mushra stomped off with quite a tantrum"

Kutall winced. "This is bad"

Sago snorted.

"Let's get back to the others", suggested Kutall, getting up. "See if they found out anything. Then you'd better go downstairs and catch some sleep – you look exhausted"

Sago remained seated. "That's not all, Kutall"

"Now what?"

"Emma knows. About us – and Mushrambo" Sago's voice turned fierce at the last two words. "She realized it several days ago, and said nothing"

"Why? Why didn't she?"

"I don't know, but – we have to tell them, Kutall. They deserve to know"

"Don't you think we should get Mushra to agree to this, too?"

"Probably". Sago lowered his eyes. "But it's unfair to Emma"

"Do you think she'll tell them, if you don't?"

"I'm pretty sure she won't do such a thing"

"So let's talk to Mushra first. I don't know about you, but I don't fancy the idea of being barbequed"

Sago snorted. "Good point"

Kutall shook his head. "Let's get you down to quarters. You're probably exhausted"

"Might be a good idea"

"So let's go"

-

The youngest and oldest red Rangers stood alone in the corridor off of Ops.

"How fast can she be here?" asked Tommy.

"Dimitria's giving her trouble again", said Andros, barring his teeth momentarily. "Something about Karone not having the balance it takes for the job. Karone told her to shove it, of course"

Tommy hissed through clenched teeth. "And to think I used to like Dimitria"

"A day or two, Tommy. Not more"

"Do we have that long?" Tommy sighed and looked away. "With every moment that passes, the chances of saving her…"

Andros hit the bulkhead. The noise echoed down the corridor, making Tommy jump. "I'm loosing a Ranger here, Tommy"

Fear made the blood vanish from Tommy's face. "What do you mean?"

"Carlos. He may not have two days"

"You said it was just the backlash!"

"You haven't seen him in the past few hours, have you?" Andros voice was fierce. "I haven't seen him like that in years. He's fading"

"Karen may be alive", offered Tommy quietly.

"It may not be enough. He and Shiera – they need each other"

Tommy bit his lip. "So we doesn't have two days"

"True"

"And Karone may take two days to get here"

"True"

"Has Ashley tried to talk to Emma?"

"Only ten times"

"No luck?"

"No luck. Emma's still locked in her room and not talking to anyone". Andros sighed. "I checked the vids – she heard the whole deal"

"Damn". Tommy raised his eyes. "There's only one way out of this mess, you know"

"Enlighten me"

Tommy's mouth straightened into a thin, hard line. "We've got find Karen"

Seconds ticked by.

Andros pushed himself back from the wall. "I'll set the scanners". He started towards Ops, but then stopped and turned around. "And see if you can get Kat to talk to the Enterrans. There's something they've been keeping from us"

"Ask Zhane"

"Already did. But Zhane's hanging with Sago mostly, and he's less likely to let his mouth ran than Kutall is"

Tommy frowned.

"Mushra punched a dent in a sigma-6 alloy plate, Tommy"

Tommy took a sharp intake of breath. "You know what that means, don't you?"

Andros nodded curtly, then walked into Ops.

Tommy closed his eyes. "Light, have mercy", he murmured silently, then buried his face in his hands.

-

"Kutall?" It was Kat, peering cautiously inside. "Can I come in? You left the door unlocked"

"Wait, I'm coming". Kutall added another blanket to the two that already covered Sago, and quietly left to the living room, where Kat was waiting. "Don't want to wake him up", he explained.

"Three blankets?" asked Kat, frowning.

"He's freezing cold"

"Justin's busy with the scanners, but I can ask Adam…"

Kutall shook his head. "No, it's okay", he said. "He's just tired, really"

"Shiera's a good healer", agreed Kat.

"And a good killer, too" said Kutall. "What_ is_ she, to kill an Enterran king so easily?"

"How about I tell you on the way?"

"On the way?"

"Mushra", she said simply.

"Of course" Kutall cast a glance behind.

"Are you sure…"

"Yes, he's just tired", said Kutall firmly. "Let's go"

"Do you remember the shield Ashley conjured against the ghosts?" asked Kat as soon as they were in the corridor.

"Yes. Justin said it was made of hope"

"That's right"

"What does it have to do with Shiera?"

"Ashley is a Bearer of Hope"

"Is Andros a Bearer too?" asked Kutall, piecing things together.

"Yes, he's Courage. Hope and Courage are complementary – together they give whole Light. That's how they beat Diehanger". Kat paused.

"Do I know any other Bearers?" asked Kutall curiously.

"Zhane's Loyalty. His complementary is Karone – she's wisdom. Yes, they're married", added Kat before Kutall could ask, "And that makes Andros and Zhane brothers-in-law. Melissa and Hurán aren't married, though"

"Melissa I heard of, but Hurán?"

"He raished Karone. Long story"

"What does all this have to do with Shiera killing an Enterran king with hardly any effort?"

"There are only six Light Bearers, but there are two qualities that are parallel to the Light. Those two qualities complete each other, and as a pair they complete the six Bearers"

"And Shiera is one"

"She's Will", agreed Kat. "But it's too strong a power for a human. She has to fight her own power constantly. That's why she need Carlos"

"Carlos?"

"He's Love. But he's never been quite strong enough to stand up to her". They've reached below decks as they talked, and were now standing in front of a large, closed metal door. "Sensors say Mushra's on the other side"

"Let's see if we can talk him out without getting burned"

Kat shook her head. "With Shiera so angry? He probably passed out"


	32. Battle of Will II: last part

_Welcome on board to all the new readers - glad to have you here!_

_Author's challange: points to anyone who can understand what Carlos and Zhane are going on about, at the very end of this chapter._

_Enjoy all!_

* * *

7. Battle of Wills II: Human against Enterran

_Third Part_

It was a storing room, and it was huge and packed. Kutall looked doubtfully at the dusty shelves and tall piles of crates, and sighed. "We're never going to find him in here"

"Probably why he hid here in the first place", muttered Kat. "Let's split. And I'll lock the door, so he can't sneak out behind out backs"

"Not so certain he'd passed out?"

"Just making sure"

It took full forty minutes of combing through the shelves and the crates, shouting Mushra's name, before Kutall a telltale spot of color in the dusty room. "Here!" he yelled for Kat, and quickly kneeled next to Mushra. The boy seemed to be unconscious, as Kat predicted. He was also pale and shivering. "Mushra?"

Mushra's eyelids fluttered half open. "I killed her…", he whispered. "She's going to die… All my fault"

"Don't talk nonsense, Mushra, everything going to be alright"

Kat came skidding up behind him, and kneeled down too, putting her hand against Mushra's cheek. "He's freezing. He caught hypothermia down here. Let's get him to the infirmary, quick"

"He was conscious a moment ago", said Kutall. He picked Mushra in his arms – the boy felt so tiny and weightless, so fragile – and got up. "Said something about someone going to die"

Kat's expression shifted from sober to somber. "Yes. I wanted to talk to you about that"

-

It was quiet and dark in the infirmary. Quiet, dark and empty. In times long past, the base under the mountains was the Rangers' main stronghold, their biggest and best-equipment base. They abandoned it soon after the war started, not wishing to risk exposing it. Should everything else fail, they knew, this base would be where the last battle will take place.

All else has failed, and the last battle will soon be fought.

_The last battle for Earth, anyway_, thought Zhane bitterly. He'd been sitting in the quiet of the almost-empty infirmary for hours now, listening to the monitors as they beeped. He turned down the lights because the darkness suited his mood better, and because the light hurt Carlos' eyes, on those few precious times he regained consciousness.

"Don't die on me, Carlos" whispered Zhane. "We've been through too much for you to die now"

Carlos, lying on the medical bed, turned his head to Zhane. "We've always known this day would come, Zhane. We knew that this will be how I'll…"

"Don't!" cut him Zhane. "You're not going to!"

Pain flashed on Carlos' face, and he shook his head. "I can't feel her at all", whispered Carlos. "She's gone, and when she comes back, if she'll come back… It's going to be too late. Anger consumed her too much, and I can't hold her anymore. I never could… when she set out to protect". Carlos' eyes closed, and for a minute Zhane thought that he'd lost consciousness again. "It hurts… I knew it would come, and it still hurts"

"I'm not leaving you alone. We're going to find her – we're going to find both of them – and everything will be alright, you'll see"

"There's not time", whispered Carlos. "Tonight… tonight will be the end. I can't feel her anymore, but I know her. The power's consuming her, and she's not fighting her anymore. She won't last after the night"

_No_, prayed Zhane, _No, not this…_ But Carlos knew Shiera. He knew where her limits were even better than she did. "We can't fight them both"

"We won't have to", said Carlos. "One of them will kill them other. I…" a tear slipped through Carlos' closed eyes, and then another one. "I hate myself for saying this, but I hope she'll be the one to die, because…"

"I know, Carlos. I know"

-

He'd seen horrors before; he'd even experienced some on his own flesh; nothing, however, prepared Sago for this. This was the single worst thing that he'd ever felt, far beyond anything he could have imagined.

He was drowning.

He was surrounded by water – clear, fresh, life-giving water – but he could not breath. This never happened before. Those were water, his element, why were they refusing him? His thrashed about, trying desperately to reach for the surface, but he could not find it. There were no 'up' and 'down', just water, endless water, empty and uniform in all directions…

Searing pain exploded in his forearm. He screamed – and suddenly he was on the shore. He collapsed to his knees, breathing hard.

Someone set beside him on the sand.

"I'm very sorry", she said quietly, "But I had to"

Sago raised his eyes, and discovered that he heard right: this was Shiera sitting next to him, looking exhausted, sad and very much human.

"The nightmares will fade with time, but never completely"

"Why?" he asked. His lungs were still burning. A nightmare? But it feels so real.

"You'll never heal completely", she said sadly. "I'm sorry I had to do this to you, but I could allow neither death nor Franken to claim you"

"I don't understand"

"As prince of the Water, you would have become too dangerous an enemy. I could not allow this. Had you died, though, the gem you protect would have gone on to the other one, and I couldn't allow that as well. One devil is enough. The world does not need two"

"The gem…" he reached for the front of his helmet, feeling the three blue stones. "Emma said something about the gems, too"

"She's not stupid. Of course she understood"

"_I_ don't understand"

"Let's hope you'll never have to, then". Shiera put his hand on his shoulder, surprising him. "In another live, I would have been proud of you. In this life, I must fight against you"

"Against? But you…"

"What I did is a terrible thing, Sago", she said quietly. "I arrived too late. The waters won – Franken won. I couldn't allow it. I couldn't heal you, not without hurting you further," her hand moved down and touched his forearm lightly, "and that's precisely what I did".

He looked down at his arm, and finally he understood. "No", he whispered, the terrible realization turning his insides into lead. "No"

"I'm sorry, Sago. I could not allow…"

He shook away the light, comforting touch and screamed, screamed for heaven to hear, though he knew no one could help him, now: "No!"

-

"Please don't lie to me, Kutall"

"I'm not lying to you, Kat. I swear"

"Then why…"

"Sago and I already agreed on this. We didn't get a chance to talk to Mushra, yet"

Kar sighed as they entered the lift. "It doesn't matter now. We already know"

Kutall's heart nearly stopped. His fur was on end. "What?"

"We know", repeated Kat simply. "We don't understand how – I suspect Emma knows, but she's not talking – but we know". Kat brushed a stray lock from Mushra's face. If Kutall haven't been so shocked, he would have noticed the sad, gentle caring on her face. "Somehow, he's Mushrambo all over again"

-

The infirmary's door hissed as it opened.

"Go away, Andros" said Zhane, his voice heavy.

"It's me", said a voice Zhane didn't except to hear. "Zhane? Am I interrupting?"

"Sago?" Zhane got up and whirled around, and his face split in a grin. In the next moment, Sago found himself wrapped in a bear hug. "You're alright! I'm so sorry, pal, I don't know what I was thinking, leaving you there like that"

"It's alright, Zhane, really" said Sago, though that wasn't remotely true. "Listen, do you know where Emma is? I need to talk to her"

"She's in her room, but…" Zhane shrugged. "She won't talk to anybody. Locked the door and everything. You can try, though, if you wanna. Maybe she'll talk to you"

"Somehow, I don't think so", said Sago. He plopped down on the nearest bed.

"Hi, you okay?" asked Zhane, sitting next to him. "You look exhausted"

"I am", sighed Sago. "Zhane, is there a way…"

Zhane waited patiently, but Sago did not finish the question. Instead, he looked over to where Carlos was lying.

"What happened to him?" asked the Enterran quietly. "Kutall said everyone came out fine from the battle"

"He and Shiera are symbiotic. Been so for half of their lives, for as long as they've been together. She's stronger then him, though, and he's sort of used to living off of her power. She's got too much power, you see. Enough that…" Zhane shrugged. "You know what they say: power corrupts. And Shiera has a lot of power. Without Carlos, she doesn't stand a chance against it, and she knows it. Looks like she doesn't care anymore, though. It's her only chance to kill Mushrambo, so she's going to do it. Best case scenario is that she'll catch up with him real quick, and then maybe we can still save her and Carlos. Worse case scenario, Carlos dies and she…" Zhane swallowed. "She'll be invincible, at least as powerful as Mushrambo is now. And if power corrupts… absolute power corrupts absolutely"

Silence.

"What did you want to ask, Sago? If there's a way to what?"

Sago shook his head.

"Is there a way to help Carlos?" he asked.

Zhane shook his head, sadly. "I'm doing what I can, but he doesn't want to live without her, so there's very little I can do. Maybe Karone can get her back, but we don't know if she'll get here in time. Why are you holding you arm like that? Something's hurting you?"

Before Sago could stop him, Zhane removed Sago's right hand from his left and rolled up the sleeve. The faint scar was still there. Zhane touched his fingers to the scar – and pulled back sharply as if burned. He looked at Sago, and his eyes were wide with fear.

"She arrived too late, didn't she" whispered Zhane. "And Sago never meant to kill you"

Sago nodded.

"That's what I wanted to ask you about"

"You want to know if it's the same kind of blade she used on Mushra", said Zhane slowly. "Yes, it is, but it's not going to kill you – the wound closed, so it's not deadly. Still, it's a terrible thing"

"She said I'd never heal completely"

Zhane was silent for a moment. "Make a vapor lily"

"What?"

"A vapor lily. Those cute water-vapor flowers you can create in your palm"

"Why?"

"Just do it. If you can"

Frowning, Sago curled his palm and concentrated. Sure enough, tendrils of vapor appeared and formed, but before the flower could fully form, Sago cried and shook his hand. "It hurts!"

Zhane nodded. "It'll hurt less with time, but it'll never stop hurting. That's what she meant. If I understand correctly, then Franken played on your water affinity in order to win you for his side. In order to stop that, Shiera had to block it – somehow. She didn't cut all the way through, for some reason, so you still have the power – but she as good as blocked you from using it, at least for a long while, if a little thing like a vapor lily can hurt you so much". Zhane frowned. "What I don't understand is why she didn't cut all the way through. It's not like her to do things halfway"

"Maybe it's her idea of mercy. Or torture" offered Sago wryly, even that he knew the answer. Shiera had to leave him his water affinity, or else the gem would've left him; and that, Shiera made plain, she would not allow to happen.

"No, she doesn't do either. She's too hard to have an mercy, and she's too honest to cause pain only for the sake of it". Zhane sighed. "You do know that everything that happens on Ops is recorded. Which means Andros and Tommy watched your entire conversation with Emma. And I do mean the entire thing"

_The entire thing…_ Sago swallowed. Hard. _Endgame._

"I'm sorry" he said, his voice barely audible. "We were afraid that you wouldn't trust us"

"Emma wasn't the only one who guessed, Sago, though she probably understands more than the rest of us. She's the only one of us who understands gems, after all. Mushra's secret identity was obvious from the moment Shiera tried to kill him"

"It's not just Mushra. It's the three of us. Once, in battle, Kutall and I were carded. Mushra swallowed both out cards, and became Mushrambo. That's how we discovered it"

"Mushra is obvious different from you two. She tried to kill him, but she didn't kill you and even left you your powers – technically speaking"

"The gems are the key, somehow", said Sago.

"Yes, they are. Emma is the only one who understands, though, and she's not talking"

"Why did she lock herself up?"

"Who knows? Probably because of Shiera, but that can't be all. Something's eating her up, and we don't know what it is". Zhane rubbed his temple. "Maybe you should try"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. She's got a soft spot for you"

"You guys have been her friends for years"

"Talk to her" The faint, gruff voice made both Sago and Zhane turn in surprise. Carlos was awake again, and had probably been for a few minutes, listening in to them. "Don't leave her alone. She's afraid of it". Carlos' eyes found Zhane's, and he tried to smile. "It's us all over again, Zhane"

Zhane's eyes widened. "You don't mean…"

But Carlos' eyes closed, and he lost consciousness again.

"What did he mean by that?" asked Sago, but Zhane apparently didn't hear him. He went back and set by Carlos' side, taking the other Ranger's hand in his. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Sago thought he saw orange light trickle from Zhane's hand to Carlos'.

Quietly, Sago came up behind Zhane. No, the orange light wasn't a trick of his imagination; it was real.

"Zhane", he tried again.

Zhane's head jerked up. "What?"

"I don't know where her room is"

"Ask the computer. Or ask anyone. I have to stay with him". Zhane's hand tightened on Carlos'. "I can't leave him alone"

Sago nodded. "Alright"

"Hi, Sago?" called Zhane, when Sago was already by the door.

"Yes?"

"Emma is like a little sister to us all. Understood?"

"Understood", confirmed Sago, though he didn't understand at all.


	33. Death and Life, part 1

_Remember the Author's Challenge from last update? Well, Sakura Blossom-Cilla got it, but LKK gets an honorable mention for not only realizing what's on the surface, but also taking it one step further._

_Also, to all you guys who review, but do not leave email adresses (Yin, you there?): if you'll leave an email address, i'll get back to you with (partial) answers to questions, and update emails, so you'll know as soon as there is an update._

_Another depressing update, i'm afraid, but I promise at least two good things by the time "Death and Life" will be over - and this updates contains heavy foreshadowing on one of them._

_Read and review, folks!

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**9. Death and Life**

_First Part_

"Zhane?" asked Kat quietly.

"Oh, Hi Kat", said Zhane, turning his head slightly. "Hi Kutall. What happened to him?" he added, pointing his chin in Mushra's direction; Kutall placed the boy on one of the beds.

"Hypothermia" said Kat succinctly, picking a scanner. "He hid below decks, in one of the store rooms"

"His injuries are looking better, though" said Kutall.

"Really?" Kat moved closer, to inspect for herself. "They do. Weird". She turned to Zhane. "Any luck?"

Zhane shook his head. "Karone's ETA is eight to twelve hours, but it may be too long"

"Any idea how the search is going?"

"Search?" asked Kutall.

"For Karen", said Kat, even as Zhane said: "They're still aligning the scanners"

"Nothing more I can do for him", said Kat, dropping the scanner. "Just put him in bed with lots of blankets". She frowned. "This is weird. Sago was cold before, too, wasn't he?"

"Not surprising" muttered Zhane.

"What do you mean?" asked Kutall.

Zhane shrugged. "He was here couple of minutes ago. Talk to him"

"Zhane…" warned Kat.

"I'm not saying, Kat. I don't think he'd appreciate it"

"What do you mean?" repeated Kutall.

Zhane shook his head. "Just talk to him". He sighed as both Kutall and Kat pinned him with glares. "Spare me, guys. I'm exhausted"

Kat shrugged. "I'll better go find Tommy, then". She turned to leave, but nearly fell after two steps.

"You all right?"

"Yeah. Just hungry and tired I suppose"

"Hungry?" asked Kutall.

"I don't think I ate since yesterday"

Zhane snorted. "You're not the only one. I don't think _anyone_ here ate since yesterday"

"Dear me" muttered Kutall. "Kat, I'm going to have to ask you a favor"

* * *

"Am I smelling pasta?" asked a hopeful voice.

Kutall turned around – it was one of the humans whose name he didn't know. "Yes", he confirmed.

"Thank goodness". The man walked into the kitchen and collapsed on one of the chairs.

The second one arrived minutes later; she did not bother with questions, but simply sniffed the air and smiled widely before sitting down; she fell asleep on the table seconds later.

By the time the pasta was ready and the roast was in the oven, half a dozen humans were hanging by the kitchen, asleep in chairs or talking quietly among themselves; the smell of the food brought them in, but none of them harassed Kutall with inquiries on when will it be ready; they seemed to be quite content just knowing that there's going to be something to eat.

Trini was one of the last to come in. Kutall, who hasn't seen her since the morning's battle, was startled so see how tired and suddenly aged she looked.

"You're the best, Kutall", she said before collapsing in a corner; all the chairs were taken. She looked around. "That's just Kat and Emma missing, than. All the others are in Ops, and won't come down"

"Kat is watching over Mushra and Sago", said Kutall. "I didn't want to leave them alone. Where is Emma? Someone should go call her"

"In her room and not coming out", said Ashley. "We gave up trying to coax her out. She'll come when she's ready"

"We'll just leave a tray outside her door," said Trini; she must have been following Kutall's train of thought. "No one's staying hungry"

* * *

He tapped the door, though he doubts he'd get response; it didn't work before, no reason for it to work now. "Emma? You there?" Silence. Silly question. Of course she's there. "I brought you some food. Kutall went on a cooking frenzy when he realized no one here ate for a while. You should have heard him, it was hilarious". Silence again. "Anyway, I brought you a tray. It's all wrapped up nicely so it should stay warm for a while, just in case you're not hungry, though I doubt it". More silence. "Emma, will you please talk to me? I'm worried. Please tell me what's wrong". No answer. Sighing, he put down the tray and left.

* * *

In truth, she never went far. She was adept in camouflaging herself, and that's what she did. As much as she preferred the chase to the ambush, she knew that a chase would be futile. She knew Mushrambo would come: he will come to hunt her friends, and he will come for his other self. The other self was too dangerous to be allowed to continue existing; that was the one thing that she and her prey agreed upon.

No, he was not "prey" in the usual sense of the word. He was a rival and an enemy to her, and she will do better not to underestimate him. He was a predator, like herself.

She hated being a predator. She fought against it for half of her life, but it could not be helped. She would much rather be a defender, like her teammates, like her husband, but she's always been a better assassin than bodyguard. She hated it and valued it at the same time: they protected, but she will kill – and who is the ultimate protector, then?

She was lying to herself and she knew it, but there was no other choice.

Sighing, she got up and stretched, staring west at the descending sun. She did not settle in the mountains, where she'd be closest to the happening, but farther west, at the edge of the moor. Something was calling her, pleading with her to go to Angel Grove once again, but she would not go: the city was dead, a radioactive moor, and to go there equaled suicide. Yet her heart had been calling her home, home to where she grew up, for weeks now, and she tired of it. She grew tired of everything – why would she want to go there, otherwise?

Her heart was calling to Angel Grove; to go to Angel Grove meant to die; she will die, then – no use denying it – but she will not die in vain, alone and defeated; she will take Mushrambo with her, and then at least her death will mean something. It was the last good deed left for Shiera to do, and she was determined to go through with it.

"I'm sorry", she whispered to the breeze. She was sorry for taking Carlos down with her; sorry allowing her baby to die; sorry for anyone she ever failed. She could hear some of their voices in her mind, knew there accusations: each and every one of the voices in the back of her mind was a string that pulled and resisted, except for two, and those two voices meant life and death to her: one voice called her east, and the other west. There was Carlos, dying because of her but not pulling away, still loving her – that hurt so much – and there was a presence like Karen's calling her west.

Karen was dead, though. That voice had to be an illusion created by her own subconscious, a secret wish of death.

She wanted to smile wryly, but she had lost all her smiles. She will die, then; no helping it. In life, she failed enough times. In death, she will not.

Mushrambo was dead – he just didn't know it yet.

* * *

He finished the explanation, and for a few seconds there was silence. Then, Mushra said: "I so want to kill her. Who the hell does she think she is?"

"Someone who is unstoppable" muttered Kutall, and proceeded to relay what he had heard from Kat. "And that not all", he added. He hesitated for a moment, then said: "They know"

"Know?" frowned Mushra.

"About us and Mushrambo", finished Sago quietly. "Zhane said they'd known for a while now"

"And they just… they've known and they did nothing?"

Kutall and Sago both shrugged.

"No point second-guessing those people", said Sago.

"This is so frustrating", growled Mushra. "I'm sick and tired of hiding, and I wish those damn cuts will close already so I can go out there and _card_ some people. I need action. I can't sit and do nothing and talk all day, it's driving me crazy!"

Sago shrugged, emptied the pitcher and got up to refill it.

"You're drinking a lot", remarked Kutall.

"Guess why", called Sago back.

Mushra growled again. "_We_ should be out there looking for Yakumo. It's _our_ job, not the humans' "

"Where will you search?" questioned Kutall. "We won't last an hour out there"

"I don't ca…"

"I hate to admit it, but Kutall is right", said Sago, coming back in and sitting down. "You've only started to get better, and I doubt I can go hyper in my current condition. Kutall is the only one of us who can fight properly. One good pack of other Enterrans, not to mention something worse – think Gyasa, if not Mushrambo – and we're done for"

"You're being a defeatist", accused Mushra.

"I - " began Sago, but stopped. "Yes, maybe I am", he continued, very quietly. "But I know I can't fight, and it hurts. I don't know how you find the strength, Mushra, because I'm running out of it"

"That's not the only thing hurting you", said Kutall, motioning towards Sago's arm.

"Huh?" asked Mushra.

"Emma", clarified Kutall. "You like her, don't you?"

"I - "

"Don't say that she's too much like Yakumo. You are the one who said that she's older and more mature, and the two of you had been spending a lot of time together. I've been watching". Kutall shook his head. "You didn't even admit it to yourself yet, did you"

Mushra's eyes were as wide as saucers. "You… You…" he stammered. "Guys, one of you tell me you're not serious!"

Sago bowed his head.

"That's why she won't talk to me. I'm afraid… I'm afraid that that's why she's hiding. As long as she's hiding, there's no one to take care of Mushra's wounds, and I'm afraid that…"

"It's not your fault", said Kutall gently, "Even if that is the reason that she's hiding. She's losing her sister, remember"

"This is all too complicated", said Mushra. "That's why I prefer fighting"

"Given our current situation", said Kutall, "I'm inclined to agree"

* * *

The vast desert streaked below him, acres on acres of it. The parched land was a mesmerizing mesh of orange and shadow in the sunset light. Here and there, darker spots marked the ruins where cities and towns once were. No green was visible, no living settlements. This land, he knew, was uninhabited by Enterrans as well as by humans. The humans destroyed it in vain attempt to take down as many Enterrans as possible. Mushrambo chuckled to himself: oh yes, the humans killed many Enterrans, but the Enterrans killed even more humans.

"Survival of the fittest", one of the silly humans once said. Well, maybe not all humans were silly after all.

That thought sobered him pretty quickly. No, not all humans were silly after all. Some were smart enough to flee; others were smart enough to survive. Their time was up, though: Mushrambo has had enough. Before sunset, someone will die. There were two options: either he'll tear down the mountainside and kill everyone who were inside, or she'll come to stop him – and if she'll do so, she's die. He's had enough of the one his people called "The Green Death".

He could not care less when she killed Kimilas – the fool threw himself in the way; killing Daku, though, was overdoing it. Mushrambo could not allow it. His people grew to fear her too much – their belief in her power was exaggerated; they believed that she was invincible.

Only one of two mortal enemies can be invincible. Today, hopefully, he will prove himself as the true champion of Enterra.

_Earth is dead_, he thought, glancing west as the parched and poisoned remains of the human cities._ Long live Enterra_.


	34. Death and Life, part 2

_Proud to present what is probably the longest update to date. I do hope you'll enjoy it.  
Oh, and we're currently at 94 reviews. Think we can make it to 100 before the next update?

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_

**9. Death and Life**

_Second part_

* * *

_"You missed", she declared._

_"So did you", he answered coolly._

_They were both lying; he knew it, and maybe she did too. Her dagger drew blood from his leg: only a few drops, but it was enough – he could already feel its magic, weakening his will. And his sphere did hurt her, tall and proud as she may stand: he could see the faint glow of it in her aura. It may not be deadly to her as it was to most, but it still hurt her badly._

_Their chances were even, and they both knew it. Up in the air, where none of their allies may interfere… Though frankly, in a battle between such deadly, devoted foes, allies were more of a hindrance than an advantage._

_Blow by blow, both warriors grew weaker as the fight went on, and still none of them was any closer to loosing or winning. Sensing that his patience would soon wear out – formidable as it was – he made another vicious dab: "Now I know where your baby got her tolerance from", he told her. "It took her hours to die"_

_She came down on him as fast as thought, a green blur of hatred and anger. She was too fast to pull aside, and so she crashed against the wall of dark purple he conjured around himself._

_There weren't a cry or a gasp. Finally dead, she fell to the ground. Distantly, he wondered if the other humans would come out to play. Would they preserve their strength, or would they realize that they are lost? Would they seek instant relief, or would they attempt to plot revenge? One thing was sure: he was not going to stick around and find out. He was dying slowly – the magic of her dagger did not die with her – and the power of the Spirit gem was not enough to heal him._

_He needed the Light gem. It was his only chance. Within one hour, he knew, he would become too weak to fight, and the human will win after all. How? He thought angrily. I've been searching for her for years, and still she evaded me! The gems call out to one another, and yet I can't find her._

Blood.

_Suddenly, he knew. He bent down and touched his fingers to the bleeding cut on his leg. She left him a gift – her magic in his blood. Now, if only he could tap into…

* * *

_

"Mushra!"

Mushra woke with a gasp. Something was wrong – and it wasn't just that Kutall was standing over him, glaring. "Don't worry me like that. I thought you died in your sleep"

"Did he kill her?" blurted Mushra. Abruptly – he realized what was wrong: the alarms were blaring, and the room was flashed in red light.

"Nobody killed anybody yet, but Mushrambo is approaching"

"What?" Suddenly alert, Mushra pushed himself out of the bad. "When will he be here?"

"We have ten minutes. Everyone's going up to Ops; well, down to Ops, actually". That was Sago, standing at the door to Mushra's bedroom. Mushra's heart contracted suddenly.

"You look terrible", he told Sago honestly.

Sago shrugged. "Nothing life threatening" The words hung unsaid: _unlike you_.

"Let's go", said Kutall.

* * *

"No luck, Tommy", said Andros. He, and the rest of the search party, seemed dead on their feet and their eyes were bleary from spending too many hours next to the computers. "If she's out there, we can't find her out all" 

"We presume that her presence is masked by her pendant", said a blonde man, the third of the search party other than Andros and Justin. "Only a great power source can mask a single human biosignature on a planet inhabited solely with non-humans, even be they as similar to humans as the Enterrans are"

"So is Dr. Tatsuro dead?" asked someone.

"Either that, or he's in great proximity to her", said Billy. "Based on the little information we have on that pendant, I'd say that its protective field might have a diameter of up to a hundred and fifty meters"

Someone whistled; Kutall was inclined to agree.

"Let's worry about that later", said Tommy. "Mushrambo will be here in seven minutes. Ideas, anyone?"

"I say we give it all we got", said Jason. "We've nothing to lose anymore"

"Nothing to gain, also", said on of the women. "This is not a good way to fight"

"We're the Power Rangers", answered Jason sharply. "Nothing is impossible"

"I think it's a little to late for optimism, my friend", said Andros. "You know we can't beat him, not even all of us together. Not even with Kutall's help"

Kutall felt Mushra bristle next to him, but someone else spoke before Mushra could.

"And why should that stop us?" demanded Zhane. He's only now came in, and he did not sit down: instead, he stood facing the half-circle in which everyone else set and glared at them. "If we have to go down anyway, let's go down fighting; and if we don't fight, we'll never know if we could've won. Nothing to lose, only to gain"

"I think we're all agreed on that", said Tommy quietly.

"Do we go outside and wait for him?" asked someone.

Tommy shook his head. "No. We let him come. We'll see if he drag any other Enterrans into this – Rusphine hasn't shown yet, and that worries me – or if he fights alone. Then we decide"

"I'll fight", said Mushra angrily.

"I do…" began Tommy.

"Leave it, Tommy", said Andros; everyone seemed surprised, Mushra included. "Anyone who wants to fight should fight. You can't protect everyone, all the time. Sometimes you have to let people make their own decisions. And frankly", he shrugged, "I don't think you could stop him"

"Damn right you can't", muttered Mushra.

Tommy raised his hands. "I give. Anyone who wants to fight will fight. We have four minutes. Say your last goodbyes, people, and pray for a miracle"

_Or twenty_, thought Kutall; the expressions around him reflected same sentiment.

* * *

The relative darkness of the hangar was unsettling; the complete silence with which the large doors opened, bathing the cavernous space in golden sunlight, was even more so. With a sinking sensation, Sago realized that this might be the last sunset he will ever see. _This is not how it should end_, he thought angrily. _Not like this, it can't. We have to make it_. 

He stood close together with Kutall and Mushra, and none of them spoke. Most of the humans broke down into couples, each finding their own corner and whispering words that may be last. It was startling to discover that almost each of the Enterrans' fellow warriors had a spouse in the group. Five did not pair off: one man and one woman were talking quietly on comm units, Justin and another man stood not far from the Enterrans, and Zhane was standing by the opening, his head tilted upwards to the sky, eyes closed.

"Billy and Cassie's spouses are from other planets", explained Justin quietly. "TJ and I never married"

"A real bachelors' party" said TJ dryly.

Justin snorted. "A battle at sunrise and a battle at sunset. Quite the day, ah?"

"Let's hope this will end well, too" said Kutall.

"It shouldn't be hard", said Mushra confidently, almost cockily. "Mushrambo's tough, sure, but there are so many more of us!"

TJ shook his head. "It's hard to hope, but there's nothing else for us to do"

"Except fight" said Mushra.

"Fighting has become the same as hoping; to lose hope is to lay down and die, and no one's ready to do that, yet", said TJ grimly.

Ashley and Andros joined Zhane at the opening, with Andros standing in the middle; he and Zhane held hand, and Ashley had her right hand on Andros' shoulder. Even as they watched, she lifted her other hand, palm open as if in a greeting, and an aura of light developed around the three.

"They're praying", explained Justin. "Watch"

The aura pulsed and suddenly expended, washing over the room like a wave of comfort and reassurance. The emotions it invoked remained in the air even after the magical light faded into the natural one: hope, loyalty, courage.

Moments passed in silence. It felt like forever, but it couldn't have been more than one minute or two.

"There!" cried someone, pointing, and suddenly everyone crowded by the opening: high above, still far away but coming closer, was a pinprick of color that could only be one thing – or rather, one person.

"Mushrambo", growled Mushra.

Before anyone could say or do anything more, though, something shot at Mushrambo from below.

"Don't!" said Tommy sharply, catching Mushra's shoulder as the boy filled his lungs with air, ready to go hyper. "If there's one thing those two hate more than one another, it's you. You won't do anyone any good if you get yourself killed like that"

"Wonder who will win", muttered someone.

The memory of the dream hit Mushra suddenly. "He will", he said. "Or at least, that's what happened the first time around"

Several people spoke at once, but Tommy silenced them. "What do you mean?" he asked Mushra tensely.

"I keep having visions – I think they're Mushrambo's memories, from the way all this happened before – but things in the vision don't happen precisely like in reality, because now the three of us are here and interfering with the way things happened before. Before, Mushrambo made it here, and he challenged her and they fought and he killed her – he taunted her about Yakumo, and she got angry and then he got her. Things happen a little differently now, but I think he's still going to use that against her. But Yakumo's still alive at this point – or she was, the way things happened the first time around"

"Again, more slowly?" asked someone. "Time travel gives me a headache"

"Mushrambo's gonna kill her and Karen's still alive", simplified someone else. "Right?"

"Right", confirmed Mushra.

"We can't just…" begun someone, but never finished.

In the distance, one of the two tiny figures fell – the green one.

Zhane practically throw himself out; brilliant orange light flashed into existence around him, forming great wings that supported him in the air and carried him forward with quite a speed. He was diving, though, not soaring – he was going for Shiera.

Everyone else moved at once, crying out for their power, and the light in the hangar shown as if a star has come down.

* * *

He awoke on the floor, in pain and alone. It didn't surprise him, but it still hurt, still tasted bitter in his mouth: he failed. He put his palms against the floor and pushed, and managed to pull himself up on one knee before the pain nearly knocked him out again. He laid his elbow on his knee and squeezed his eyes shut, breathing hard: it nauseated him, being so sick when his friends needed him in battle. 

He failed.

Sago opened his eyes and stared at the glorious blue sky, not a spot of cloud on them: the swirl of shapes that was the battle showed ever-so-clearly against the blue background, specks of light shining every now and then, brighter than the rays of the setting sun.

They left him and went to fight; what choice did they have? The battle would have come to them, had they not waited. It was better – safer – to take the fight as far from the base as possible. His eyes stung, but the tears did not come. He would have loved to cry, for the sheer comfort of water on his skin – but no, that would have probably burned like fire, from the adverse reaction to water that Shiera had given him.

_This is not fair!_ He thought desperately, his fist clenching futilely at his side. _This is not right. Mushra's worse off than I am, and he's fighting. If even one of them dies, it's my fault. If Yakumo dies, little girl that she is now, it is my fault_. The pain lessened for a second, and Sago drew a deep breath; was it his imagination, or could he smell salt on the air? The wind was coming from the west – and in the west, there was the ocean; in the west, Yakumo always maintained, there was Shinzo.

_Always go west…_

It was as if the image of Yakumo was driving away the pain, making him whole again. Yakumo has always been able to take away pain and hurt with a gentle touch or a soft-spoken word – could the mere memory of her have power, too? Sago frowned, and concentrated; it was crazy, impossible, but there was nothing else for him to hold on to – he's been balanced on the edge of the abyss for days, now, and anything that could call him away from it was welcome.

Yakumo's expression built itself in his mind – eyes, smile, voice – but with it came another: a smile less shy and more introverted, eyes that were more tired and more understanding, skin slightly darker from sun and wind: Emma.

He guessed right: the tears really did sting like fire. It didn't matter, though: nothing mattered, anymore, if he didn't pick himself up from the floor. He bit his lip and forced himself up, inch by inch, forcing his mind to ignore the pain: the pain was an illusion, damn it, there was nothing to hurt him. He maintained the images in his mind – Kutall, Mushra, Yakumo, Emma – and forced himself to stand.

_I can find her_, he realized suddenly. _The others are keeping Mushrambo busy – I could go and find Yakumo while they are fighting him_. Problem was, he didn't know where Yakumo was hidden. _Damn it!_ His hands shot to his head and he hissed – the pain attacked right in his forehead, like a pole through his brain, but it left more than a dizzy spell in its wake: it left knowledge.

He knew where Yakumo was. It wasn't far – just a few minutes of flight, no more. How would he fly, though? There were no gliders in sight, only hovers – and he didn't know how to fly those. There was no time to find the gliders – he had no idea how long the others could hold Mushrambo. He'd have to go hyper – there was no way around it. It was that, or fail. _Failure is not an option_.

* * *

The battle had three circles: in the innermost circle, Mushrambo and Mushra were fighting, staff against sword – the close quarters prevented both warriors from using their wide-range, destructive energy attacks. In the outermost circle were most of the humans: the gliders gave them the better maneuverability – they broke course more often than not, flying fast and avoiding getting hit. Most of their shots missed, but they still served their main purpose – to distract Mushrambo, to keep him as much on the defensive as possible. And in the middle circle, there were Kutall, Ashley and Andros: the two humans did not morph into their armored Ranger state, but rather used the same kind of Light magic that Zhane previously used. Those three landed the heaviest blows, but had to dodge their allies as much as their enemy. 

Numbers and speed: those were the strengths they used against Mushrambo. Sheer power: his strength against them. One or two proper blows from him could kill a Ranger or card an Enterran, and they knew it. That's why the rule of the battle was one: hit if you can, miss if you must – and dodge at all costs. So far, it was working.

Kutall was beginning to believe that they might yet win; and, judging from Mushra's wild cries and Mushrambo's frown, those two knew it as well.

Watching was not a good idea – an energy dart shrieked past Kutall, nearly singeing his ear. Kutall rolled in air – and practically crashed between Mushrambo and Mushra.

"Watch it, Kutall!" roared Mushra, diving out of the way and rising again, staff held at the ready.

Kutall didn't answer – he ducked under Mushrambo's sword as the Dark King of Enterra aimed for Kutall's head, and hauled Mushrambo over his shoulder, and right at Mushra – who's staff connected under Mushrambo's chin, sending the Dark King reeling down and backwards.

Fifteen rays of light – the Rangers' guns – met at Mushrambo's chest, forming a multicolored star, hardly giving Mushrambo time to stop his fall before Musrha descended on him like a fury preceded by hellfire: "Nova fire!"

Instead of crying out in frustration, Mushrambo dived faster, avoiding some of the attack, and sent a spear of purple energy at Mushra. It never hit – Ashley and Andros conjured a protective wall of white Light.

Mushrambo's back made a lovely target, and Kutall was never one for subtleties. Barring his teeth, he roared: "Eye of the Lion!"

The battle was going _just_ fine.


	35. Death and Life, last part

**9. Death and Life**

_Last Part_

He forced himself to think clearly: the power was there. There was nothing blocking him, except for the pain – when he tried to go hyper before, the pain had made him black out. He'll just have to hold better, then – to concentrate hard enough to break through. His hyperform had a much better pain tolerance than his usual form – he'll be alright once he completed the transformation, at least for a short while.

How to break through the pain, though? He could tell himself it's nothing but an illusion all he wanted; it didn't make the pain go away. _Fine_, he thought through gritted teeth. _It's real. I'll just have to face it, then. How do I face something that's only inside my mind?_ The answer was surprisingly obvious: his subconscious has already supplied him with the answer. _Why, I face it inside my mind, of course_. Smiling grimly, he closed his eyes and summoned the image of the beach from his dreams. The hangar and the sunset light disappeared – but he did not find himself at a seaside; rather, he was standing in the middle of what seemed to be a desert, and a sandstorm was raging against him. His arms rose instinctively, using the cape to shield his face.

"My mind, my rules!" he roared into the storm. It didn't help. _So I'm blocked on this level; it only means I have to reach deeper_. He narrowed his eyes. _Thinking of a beach was a mistake. I can't do this in phases. It's an all-or-nothing_. He dug deeper, bringing up images of rivers and pools, of every water source he could think of. He could feel the power responding, faintly, but it wasn't enough. The storm was dying out, the desert turning into green land, but Sago knew that unless he could get the scenery around him to fit the image in his mind, he'd lose. _Why isn't it enough?_ He could feel the power thrumming inside his body, could feel the pressure of it inside his skull, but he could not get it to manifest himself. _This is as deep as it gets!_

Only, it wasn't. Sago's heart raced as he realized what he'd have to do in order to break through the block and go hyper. _It takes the power of the ocean. Sweet water just isn't powerful enough. The ocean, that's where all life comes from_. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

_What do I do if Franken takes over again?_ It was a possibility; it was what Shiera was trying to prevent. She and Zhane had both as good as said that whatever Franken invoked in him, it could not be undone. _Another thing for me to accept_, Sago thought determinedly. _If that what it takes, I'll do it. I'll deal with the consequences later_. And just like that, he threw himself even deeper, calling on levels of himself that until recently he did not even know that existed; and he did so without hesitation. _One thing I learned from Mushra: sometimes it's better to trust your instincts and not think too much_.

It was like being caught between a hammer and a hard place: the power of the ocean struck from one side, and Shiera's wall of sheer will from the other. Before he had time to register the pain, though, something sheltered him from it: or rather, some _one_.

_Quick_, whispered the voice. _I can only buy you seconds_.

Sago didn't bother to think or wonder; he acted, completing the transformation and returning his mind to the present, to the hangar. He was in his hyper form, and the pain was bearable, for now. Watching the battle in the distance, he realized that his entire struggle only took seconds.

He was airborne before he even finished that thought.

* * *

The violet sphere left Mushrambo's hand, traveling at incredible speed, and Kutall's heart leaped into his throat: there was no way that Mushra could dodge that in time. There wasn't enough time for one of Ashley and Andros' shields, either – Mushrambo shot ribbons in their direction almost at the same time he sent out the sphere, and he was much faster than the humans – light bearers or no, this could not be helped.

Mushra threw himself to the side, but the sphere moved to track him. Instead of hitting its target, though, it hit an orange sphere and exploded.

"Over my dead body, buddy", said Zhane when the light cleared.

Mushrambo's thin lips pulled back in a smirk. "With pleasure"

One of Zhane's eyebrows shot up, and he smiled cockily. "Catch me if you can". Instead of flying away, though, he launched himself directly at Mushrambo – who dove down and south, the only open route. It also provided Mushra with a clear shot.

One of the pink Rangers glided by Kutall's side. "Where's he getting all this power from?" she asked, and Kutall recognized Kat's voice. "He's hardly strong enough to walk"

"It's from going hyper", Kutall told her. "He'll crash later"

Kat nodded. "How much longer can he keep it up?"

"I'm not sure", admitted Kutall. "Depends on how angry he is. He's expending a lot of energy, though"

"Not long, then"

"The battle's slowing down", Kutall pointed out. "Enough for us to chat"

"I know, but there's no way we tired _him_ so much already". The venom in Kat's voice made it clear whom she was speaking of.

"I know", agreed Kutall, "But what else could it be?"

* * *

Sago never flew so hard in his life. The speed felt like it was killing him, but Sago didn't care. He'd built walls in his mind, forcing away the exhaustion and the feeling that his life force was leaking away. He'd deal with that later. He didn't know how long the others could hold Mushrambo. For now, speed was all that mattered.

* * *

High in the air and east of Sago, Mushrambo pulled out of the fight. Completely ignoring the storm of energy that the defenders aimed at his back, he turned west and flew hard, getting out of fire range in half a second.

_We drove him away_, thought Kutall hazily. _I can't believe it_.

"I can't believe it", whispered Tommy.

"We need to get back and fast", said Zhane.

Tommy whirled around to face him. "Wh…"

"She was dying when I left her"

"She can heal…"

Zhane swallowed and looked away. "I don't think she wants to"

"God damn it, Zhane, this is Shiera we're speaking of. She doesn't know what giving up means!"

"Well, I think she finaly learned! Light, Tommy, you're not the only one who cares!" Zhane blinked furiously, but did not wipe away the tears. Andros gently put his hand on Zhane's shoulder.

"Stop it!" thundered the third red Ranger; Kutall gave up trying to remember all the names. "We're heading back, now. Everyone to infirmary. Move it!"

* * *

It wasn't much of a landing; more like a crash. _No time to worry about that, though_, grimaced Sago as he picked himself up and quickly checked for any damage. _I didn't break any bones and I'm still hyper, and those are the only things that matter_. _These, and getting out of here before something kills me_. It was a bad place, he could sense that: there was something deadly in the air. _Maybe that's why this city was abandoned. What an awful place to hide a child!_ His feet carried him determinedly across the plaza. He didn't recall ever being here, yet it seemed hauntingly familiar. _Mushrambo's memories, more than likely_, he thought grimly. _I needed the knowledge, so I accessed them_. He stopped at the entrance to a random building. Somehow, he knew that this was the place. Shrugging to himself, he walked downstairs.

There was the body of a man at the bottom of the stairs. He was of medium height, black-haired, too thin and his clothes tattered. Sago kneeled and gently closed the unseeing green eyes. "Dr. Tatsuro", he whispered. "Rest in peace, good man. Your daughter will be safe now, and your sacrifice is not in vain". For Sago knew that it was the poison in the air that killed the human: yet the dead, forgotten city was the best place to hide Yakumo as Hakuba would protect her from the poisoned air, and none would dare come here. He rose and strode to the pod. The cover opened to his touch, but - for one reason or the other - Hakuba did not wake. Carefully, Sago reached inside and picked the sleeping child, marveling at how small and vulnerable she seemed. She stirred, but did not wake.

_I can't fly as fast when I'm carrying her_, he realized. _That speed was hard enough on me – no way she can stand it_. _Light, I wonder how the others are doing?_ He winced even as he thought that – "Light" was a phrase he caught from Emma, and right now, thinking of Emma hurt.

_Clap. Clap. Clap._

Sago swallowed, and momentarily closed his eyes before turning. What he saw confirmed his fear.

_I guess that answers my question_.

* * *

It was a pandemonium if Kutall had ever seen one. The red Ranger who took charge had the computer teleport them all to the infirmary as soon as they were all in the hangar. Half of the humans and Mushra promptly collapsed on medical beds. The other humans - save for Kat, who firmly shoved the nearly-hysteric Kutall out of her way and was now tending to Mushra – gathered around the two beds on which Carlos and Shiera were lying. Kutall had no idea how to read the monitors, but he didn't need them: the humans' grim expression told him all he needed to know.

Any moment now Shiera and Carlos would die.

Four humans – one of them Ashley – gathered around Carlos' bed. Some were standing, some sitting, and all of them were crying. Ashley was openly sobbing into another woman's shoulder, and Justin was barely holding himself from breaking down as well. Andros, Zhane and another man were standing between the two deathbeds; there was hardly enough floor space there for three of them, the beds were so close together. Tommy and Emma were both by Shiera's bed: Tommy was standing with his fists clenched so tightly that the knuckles turned white, and he was biting his lips hard enough that they were bleeding. He was pale, and apparently anguished beyong crying. Emma was standing on the other side of the bed, holding a glowing white crystal above Shiera's chest, brows furrowed and shoulders hunched. She was shaking, and drops of sweat slid down her face and neck.

No one had said a word since they arrived in the hangar, and it was seriously freaking Kutall out.

Then it hit him that Sago was missing. They left him unconscious in the hangar, but he was not there when they returned. _He would've come to meet us if he would've been at Ops_, thought Kutall, _I do hope he had the sense to go rest_. He walked over to a panel and typed in a few commands. The screen flashed the results, and Kutall choked audibly. "He's left!"

"What?". It was the red Ranger who assumed command, a burly man with a worn-out but kind expression, and a voice that inspired subordination.

"Sago. The computer can't locate him anywhere inside the complex"

The man's fingers flew across the pad. "He left while we were fighting. Look at this energy spike – he must have gone hyper after all - " The man froze. "Oh man, this is not good"

Kutall, who was also looking at the screen, swore fluently.

"What is it?" Andros was the one who spoke, his voice clipped.

"West". The whisper was terribly faint, and yet it carried across the infirmary clearly enough that every single person in the room froze.

With a terrible effort, Shiera opened her eyes, and looked steadily at her sister. "West. Karen, west". Then her eyes closed and she fell unconscious again.

* * *

_**Clap. Clap. Clap.**_

Sago turned, his heart racing. He was holding Yakumo so tightly that the little girl began to wake. There, leaning casually against the entrance, was Mushrambo.

"Well done", he told Sago. "I'm quite impressed. I searched for her for years, you know"

"You're not getting her", said Sago. He tried to make his voice sound confident and calm, but it came out trembling and scared. He couldn't last against Mushrambo, and both of them knew that.

"Really?" asked Mushrambo, cocking one eyebrow. "It seems that I'll be getting both of you. Especially - " he snapped his fingers, and Sago fell to his knees, crying in pain. His vision swam, and his hearing was tuning in and out, but he did not let go of Yakumo; it wasn't even conscious, anymore, but he held to her still. Distantly, he heard Mushrambo finish the sentence: "- Especially as Franken was kind enough to soften you for me".

Mushrambo drew out his sword. Sago thought he saw him move his lips, and he heard him say something, but he could not make out the words. _No_, he thought hazily as Mushrambo advanced on him. _No, no, it can't be, not like this_…

When everything turned green, he thought that he died.

* * *

Noise, noise, noise. There was so much noise that it almost eclipsed the thundering of his own heartbeat. _Heartbeat_. It took forever for the realization to form and sink in. _Not dead. I'm still alive_.

Someone tried to pull Yakumo from his arms, and Sago instinctively resisted. That someone said something, but Sago could not make out the words; nothing made sense, he couldn't force anything to make sense – words were meaningless noise, faces were a blur of color, the surroundings alien to him. Nothing made sense, and he knew that he could defend neither himself nor Emma; he tried to pick himself up from the floor, but his body has stopped responding, his muscles only trembling but not moving. He held on to Yakumo tightly, but that was all. They were sitting targets, and he knew it.

Someone kneeled by him, and put a hand to his forehead. The touch was gentle, not hostile. For a second, Sago could feel a power pulsing behind the touch, and then the pulsating power somehow expanded, bridging the gap between the other person and Sago. It was an offer, not a threat – the presence behind the power felt friendly, like a helping hand, and Sago's instincts made him accept the offer before his conscious mind had a chance to process what was happening. He closed his eyes as the cool power moved through him, soothing away some of the bone-weariness and fixing some of the damage. When he opened his mind again, he saw Emma's face up close to his, frowned in concern.

He was in the infirmary of the base under the mountains.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" asked Emma, very quietly; her hand was still against his forehead.

He nodded.

"May I have Karen?" she asked, voice still quiet.

He nodded and, carefully, unwrapped his arms from around the child. His arms didn't seem to want to move, but the child wriggled free and climbed into Emma's arms. "Aunti?" she asked, her sweet, childish voice laced with confusion.

"Yes, sweetie", said Emma gently, getting up with the child in her arms. "Mommy needs your help"

Kutall swooped down as soon as Emma cleared the way. He lifted Sago, ever so gently, and layed the water Enterran on a bed.

"Kutall?" asked Sago. His voice sounded strangely normal; it was fatigued, yes, but didn't seem to reflect half of what he put himself through.

"Don't move" cautioned Kutalll.

Meanwhile, Emma walked over to the side of Shiera's bed.

"Mommy?", asked the child hopefully; Shiera didn't stir. The child frowned. "Why isn't mommy moving?"

"Mommy needs your help, hon", repeated Emma gently, sitting the child down on the bed, "and daddy needs you too"

The child didn't listen, though. She placed her one hand against Shiera's chest, and seemed to be listening intently. "Mommy's gone", she declared. "She's taking daddy with her"

"You can still call them back", said Emma. She kept her voice forced-calm, but panic was beginning to sift in. "You have to hurr…"

Emma never finished that sentence. Face set, the child put her other hand against her pendant and white light expanded without warning.

Two monitors started beeping. Shiera – and on the other bed, Carlos as well – drew in a deep, gasp-like breath. The child smiled brilliantly, and collapsed unconscious next to her mother. Everyone started talking at once, but Sago never heard that; exhaustion caught up with him, and he fell asleep.


	36. If There Be Sorrow, part 1

_The chapter's title is taken from Mary Evans' poem by this name. It's a wonderful poem - go read it!_

_And fallingstar, dear? Welcome aboard; and I love long reviews; and if you'd leave me your email (either in a review, or you can find my email on my profile page) i'd add you to the email update messages that I do, so you'll know about a new update right away (this invitation is welcome to anyone who would like to be on the update messages list)._

_In that spirit, i'm sure all of you have a lot of unanswered questions from the end of "Death and Life", and this update will hopefully clear some of them._

_As usual: enjoy, read and review!

* * *

**10. "If There Be Sorrow"**_

_First Part

* * *

_

_"You are a Guardian befouled, Mushrambo. Do you know what that means? It means you are dangerous enough that I will not allow you free life, powerful enough that I dare not bind you, but I will not kill you, because to kill you is to kill a sun. Mistake me not, Mushrambo: I would very much like to kill you, and painfully so. You hurt ones that I love, you have killed one who is dear to me as my own. But you are one of the Guardians of Shinzo, and still have a role to play in this war. _

_"Bound by their own rules, the others Guardians may not interfere. I know the purpose they have for you, and for once I agree with them. This purpose also demands the cooperation of another. It will be her choice whether to side with the Guardians or not, but I, for one, am going to make sure she lives to make that choice – and you, oh former Dark Kind of Enterra, are going to be the means to that end"

* * *

_

He woke with a start and a gasp. Before he could properly panic, though, someone moved form the shadows and pushed him back to the mattress. "Easy, now", she chided. "The gang will have my head if anything happens to you".

His eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, and he saw that he was still in the infirmary, and that the person standing next to him was an ethereally beautiful blond woman.

"I'm Karone", she said, "And I already know that you are Sago". She smiled slightly. "Everyone is alright, before you ask. It's 2 a.m., so it's bound to be a little quite around here"

Sago nodded. "Thanks", he managed – he entire body felt as limp and weak as a jellyfish. "I'm so tired", he said.

"What a surprise", said Karone dryly. "Considering what you've been through the last couple of days, I'd be more surprised if you didn't". She shook her head. "It's a miracle you're alive, quite frankly. You should _not_ have been able to go hyper – at least not without causing yourself extensive brain damage"

"Oh", he said.

"Would you rather go back to sleep, or stay awake for a while?"

"Awake", he said firmly. He was _not_ going back to that dream anytime soon.

"I'll go get us some hot chocolate then", she said. She patted his shoulder before turning. "I'll be back in a minute"

Karone left, and Sago was left alone in the dark infirmary. It was eerily quite, save for the soft rhythmic beeping of a monitor. _A monitor?_ Sago turned his head. Carlos and Shiera's beds were pushed together, and Sago could make out the form of the infant Yakumo lying between her parents, fast asleep. The three were covered with a plaid black-and-green blanket.

"I've no idea where Emma found the old thing" said Karone. Sago startled – he did not hear her return. She put down the two mugs, and helped Sago into a sitting position. "But it's a good thing she did. I never understood what is it with those two and plaid, anyway". She handed him one of the mugs. "Hold it with both hands", she warned. "This stuff's hot"

"I noticed", said Sago. The mug was steaming as if it was boiling. He took a careful sip, and made a face. "Sweet"

"You'll be getting a lot of sweet", said Karone darkly. She set down and picked up her own mug. "At least until Emma declares you're out of the danger zone"

"What happened?" asked Sago, taking another sip. "I mean, how did we get here? One minute I was facing Mushrambo, and the next…" his voiced trailed off.

Karone nodded. "Mushrambo left the battle suddenly", she begun. "The others didn't know where he left to, or why, so they returned to the base. From what I was told, it was a big mess – Mushra collapsed, Shiera and Carlos were dying, and nobody was functioning properly. By the time they realized you're missing, and where you went, it was too late to do anything. You were close enough to Karen that the sensors couldn't locate you. They couldn't locate Mushrambo either, so they figured he must be at the same place as you"

"He was", said Sago. "I found her alright, and was just about to leave when he arrived. What I don't understand is how I got here. One moment Mushrambo was standing with his sword over me, and next thing I know, there's this huge green flash…"

"Shiera teleported you", said Karone simply. "Minute you were close enough to Karen, she _knew_ – blood magic", she explained. "There are traces of Shiera's magic in your system still, so when you came close to her daughter, she knew. She sensed you were in danger, so she teleported the two of you out of there". Karone's face contracted with momentary pain, and her eyes aged for just a second. "She spent the last of her strength on that. The effort killed her and Carlos"

"What? But…"

"Karen", said Karone simply. "A body dead for less then 10 minutes isn't truly dead, and Shiera and Carlos died at about the same instance you two arrived here. There was no injury, no real damage to their bodies. Karen managed to drag them both back. The three of them are alright, now". She glanced at the three sleeping forms. "Drained, but alright. Karen woke once already, but went back to sleep"

"She brought them back from the dead?" It was a hard concept to wrap his mind around. "I knew Yakumo was powerful, but this is quite something"

"Oh, it is. I'm not sure how she did it, either. I doubt she would've been able to do it for someone who isn't so strongly related to her as they are"

"It's weird, thinking of them as her parents. We were so used to thinking of Dr. Tatsuro as her father…"

"And her mother is the woman who tried to kill Mushra", agreed Karone. "Oh yes, this is weird"

"But Shiera doesn't look anything like her. Emma does, but Shiera doesn't look anything like Emma, either"

"Power changes people", said Karone. "If I showed you pictures of Shiera when she was much younger, she'd look just like Emma, or like the older Yakumo you know. Time and power changed her. Why do you think I look nothing like my brother?" Karone shook her head. "I didn't look anything like that when I was a teenager. Years of being a mage changed me, too"

_She's Andros' sister_, remember Sago, _and Zhane's wife_. Yet another weird concept to come to terms with.

Long minutes passed in silence as both Sago and Karone drank their still-steaming hot chocolate. The stuff was almost intolerably sweet, and scorching hot, but Sago was beginning to feel slightly better.

"How long until I feel like myself again?" he asked.

Karone shrugged. "Who knows. Normally it takes about a week, but you went untreated for several days and depleted all your reserves yesterday, so it's hard to tell. You shouldn't have been able to go hyper – nobody has any idea how to managed that"

"You already said that, but I don't understand. Mushra went hyper without trouble, and he was injured more seriously than I"

"Mushra was injured almost two weeks ago; you, only a few days ago. If you're going to compare the two of you, you should compare yourself to the state he was in for the first few days after being injured"

"But he was comatose!"

Karone's glare was acidic enough to burn through metal. "Precisely", she said finally. "And he received treatment – Emma hovering next to him day and night. Shiera probably did a good job on whatever cuts and bruises you have, but when it comes to your mind she did only what was necessary to keep you sane. And believe me, between her and Franken, that was a fine mess you were. The depression alone should have gotten you. You should be better now, though. It'll be a while before it fades completely, but you shouldn't feel like you're going to fall into a dark abyss, anymore"

Sago almost choked on his hot chocolate. _How can she know?_ "How…?" he began to ask.

"Because it's an all-too-common side effect", said Karone matter-of-factly. "You're bound to the water, physically and spiritually. Shiera severed the spiritual bond almost completely. Naturally, you'd feel alone, terrified and weak". She shook her head. "I'm going to have to talk to Emma about that. She should have known, she shouldn't have let you fend for yourself"

"She had her own issues to deal with"

"So did everyone. She shouldn't have neglected her duty", said Karone shortly. "This is not how she was trained". Karone shook her head again. "You're Kutall's responsibility, but I don't see Shiera having that talk with her, so I'd better do it", she muttered.

He wanted to ask her what she meant by that, but surprised himself by yawning widely.

"You'd better go back to sleep", said Karone, picking the empty mug from his hands. "We've been talking for almost an hour, now, and you really do need to sleep"

"I don't want to"

"Are you trying to tell me you're not tired?"

"No – it's just… well, there was this dream…"

To his surprised, Karone nodded. "Yeah, that can be awful. I'll get you something to help with that – hang on a minute". She disappeared with the two empty mugs, and returned after a few moments with a glass of something that looked like water. "Drink that".

Sago complied – it tasted like water, too.

"It's mostly water", said Karone, "With just one drop mixed in it. That and the sugar overdose should guard your sleep"

"Thanks", he said, handing her back the glass and lying down.

"You're welcome"

He was asleep as soon as he settled.

* * *

He awoke to smell of waffles. "Morning", said Kutall cheerfully.

"Morning", grouched Mushra. "Are you going to hold that plate where I can actually reach it?"

"No", informed him Kutall. "The idea is to get you out bed"

"You're no fun" complained Mushra, but got out of bed nonetheless. Kutall put the plate on the table of the apartment they shared, and Mushra wolfed it down in seconds.

"There's more in the kitchen", said Kutall. "That's where nearly everyone else are"

"Nearly?" asked Mushra, already at the door.

"The red Rangers and Karone are at Ops – Zhane reports that she is 'chewing them out' – he's in the infirmary, and Emma is on babysitting duty – currently giving Yakumo a bath, I believe". Kutall chuckled. "It is strange, seeing her as a little girl – but she is very sweet"

"Of course she is, she's Yakumo!" said Mushra indignantly. Then he caught up with what Kutall said. "Whoa, Karone's here? And Sago's still unconscious? And what time is it, anyway?"

"Karone arrived during the night, Sago's merely asleep and will wake properly around noon, and it is late morning. The sun rose about four hours ago"

The arrived at the kitchen, which was fully packed and looking like a disaster area.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" roared one of the humans.

"Zack, behave!" chided Trini, who was sitting next to him. "Ignore him, it's not personal", she told Mushra – who, given his short temper, was already fuming. "Zack's like that with everyone"

"It's called a sense of humor!"

"Here". Kat managed to find an empty chair.

"You said there were more waffles?" Mushra asked, promptly occupying said chair.

"There _were_ more waffles", said someone.

"And there_ will_ be more shortly", said Kutall, and set to work.

* * *

"No offense, but why are you so certain that they're planning tactics in there?" asked Karone pointedly. "They're two adults, and from what you guys told me, they're pretty close"

"Because that's Caris guarding that tent", said Jason.

"And if Rusphine was going to hit the sheets with Mushrambo, she would not have Caris anywhere in the vicinity", completed Tommy.

"So we have a time witch and Mushrambo holed up in the same tent for the last six hours", said Karone. "This is trouble"

"Tell us something we don't know", muttered Tommy.

"We you please knock it out?" asked Andros irritably. "We are not being productive"

"Why did you refer to her as a time witch?" asked Jason. "She's a lot more than that"

"Letting them fight Mushrambo was a wrong move"

"I'd like to see you try to stop them", said Tommy.

"They're something", agreed Jason.

Andros frowned. "Somehow, I don't think Karone was talking about the risks to their health"

"I most certainly wasn't", was Karone's flat reply. "They're big boys and if they want to fight when they're injured it's their responsibility. What I'm worried about is that now Mushrambo must know what they really are, and Rusphine is bound to know where they came from, and how. We lost a big advantage"

"Rusphine can't possibly know…"

"Melissa felt the temporal shockwave when they arrived here, and she's is half the galaxy away. Rusphine is right here, and the person who created the portal through which they arrived is her future self. Trust me, Rusphine knows, and now Mushrambo does, too"

"And what does that means for us?" asked Jason practically.

"It means we need our own Mushrambo"

"No way", said Tommy firmly. "From what Kat gathered, so far they only transformed into Mushrambo when Sago and Kutall got carded, and we're not letting that happen"

"They don't know how to transform otherwise?"

The three red Rangers shook their heads.

Karone swore.


	37. If There Be Sorrow, part 2

_It's been over the three-week standard i'm trying to keep, but this one took a lot of tweaking.  
There's a little Emma in here, for those of you who missed her, a bit of humor (of which we never have enough), and some questions - because really, it's been a while since I tried to confuse anyone, wasn't it?_

_So, as usual, read, enjoy and let me know what you think!

* * *

**10. "If There Be Sorrow"**_

_Second Part_

* * *

Mushra and Kutall arrived at the infirmary to find Sago and Zhane playing cards and eating pizza. Sago's face brightened considerably when he saw them.

"I was beginning to wonder if you forgot me", he said.

"Didn't want to disturb your sleep" said Kutall diplomatically.

"How're you feeling?" asked Mushra.

"Much better". He shot Zhane a look. "Well enough to get out of bed, as a matter of fact"

"You are not getting out of bed until Emma clears you", said Zhane firmly.

"What happened to 'doctor's orders are meant to be ignored'?" Shot Sago back; it was obvious he and Zhane had this discussion several time already.

"Not when she has my wife on her side"

"Can't you make it up to her later?"

"Sure, after she blasted me six time to next week"

"She doesn't look intimidating"

"Most everyone who thought that are dead, and can't tell you how wrong you are"

Sago opened his mouth to reply, but never got to.

"Uncles!" something small and fast shot across the infirmary, and caught Mushra's legs so as not to run headlong into the metal bed. The little girl looked up and smiled. "You're awake!". She held out her hands. "Pick me up?"

Mushra obliged.

"You're Mushra" she declared, jabbing her finger in his ribs.

"That's right"

"You fought the bad one"

Mushra smiled cockily. "That's right I did"

"You'll have to fight him again", she told him seriously. "You'll have to beat him, and you'll have to be you to do that"

"What do you mean? I am me"

"No you're not; I know it here" and she put her hand over her pendant. Then, completely ignoring Mushra's befuddled expression, she wriggled about in his arms until she was facing Sago. "Feeling better, uncle Sago?"

"Yes, I do"

"Why does he get called 'uncle' and I don't?" demanded Mushra.

" 'Cause he's uncle Sago", she said, "and he's uncle Kutall and he's uncle Zhane", she said, pointing at each in turn, "and she's auntie Emma, but you're not uncle or auntie. You're something else. Closer and further"

"Huh?" Mushra seemed genuinely confused.

"Don't push her", said Emma gently. "The gem's feeding her a lot of information, but she isn't ready for most of it yet. Don't confuse her. Now", she turned to Sago, "Let's see how you're doing".

"Let's go, guys", said Zhane suddenly, getting up from his chair. He gave Sago a very pointed look.

"Wha…"

"Yes, we were just leaving", said Kutall, just as suddenly. Both he and Zhane had a certain gleam in their eyes.

"Wha…" begun Mushra again, but Kutall put his arm on Mushra's shoulder and steered him towards the door. Within seconds, they were gone.

Sago and Emma looked at each other in silence.

* * *

She heard screaming, shouting and the unmistakable noise of objects crashing; Ashley's instincts, honed by a life of fighting, sent her running down the corridor and rolling into the room before her conscious mind had the time to process and recognize the sounds. 

Kutall, Mushra and little Yakumo – all of whom had their hands covered up to their elbows with floury dough – stared, wide-eyed, at the battle-ready Ranger who practically flew into the kitchen and landed in a perfect battle crouch, blaster in each hand. For one or two seconds, nobody moved; then Mushra began laughing hysterically, and was promptly followed by just about everyone else. It was several good minutes before any of them managed to catch their breath – and by then, all four were collapsed on the floor.

"Oh, god, I made such an idiot of myself", whizzed Ashley.

"I was not aware", said Kutall, catching a stitch at his side, "that baking cookies is a mortal sin"

"I heard something crashing – someone screaming - "

"We were having a bit of fun with the cooking", said Mushra.

"That's one way to put it", said Kutall. "Mushra and Yakumo played tug-of-war with the bawl", he explained to Ashley, "they bumped into me, and I accidentally knocked down a shelf"

"So what I heard was Karen squealing, you shouting and china breaking". Ashley shook her head. "Guess I'm a bit high-strung, huh?"

"That's one way to put it", agreed Mushra sarcastically. "Do you always aim blasters at random people inside your own base?"

Ashley laughed and shook her head. "No, it's a special favor for you guys"

"It's nice to know we're loved", said Kutall. "No, Yakumo, don't - "

Too late. The little girl tried to reach the forgotten bowl of cookie dough, and accidentally knocked over the flour, wrapping the room in white powdery cloud. Kutall's subsequent swearing was lost between the little girl's squealing, Mushra's "gotcha!", and Ashley's belly laughter.

* * *

"Emma?" asked Sago carefully after a few moments. "Are you crying?" 

She nodded, biting her lip. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she burst suddenly. "Don't you ever! Do you have any idea how terrified I was when you teleported in like that, in that state?"

"Uh…"

"I've had enough! It's enough that Shiera always disappears on me and comes back half-dead, I can't take it if…" she stopped abruptly, as if she just realized what she was going to say. "Please don't go disappearing and risking yourself like that again in the near future, okay?" she asked more quietly. "Everyone is scared enough as it is"

"Sure", he agreed, a touch too quickly. Those words she swallowed back – were they what he hoped them to be? _Could there be a chance?_

He maintained his silence as she surveyed the different monitors surrounding his bad, as she took out a pale blue crystal and hovered it over his body in a ritual familiar to one he once saw her performing for Mushra, humming softly as she kept the crystal in the air.

"I'm sorry", she said after she finished. "I shouldn't have run off as I did, after that talk. This could have been prevented, if I hadn't been so scared. I…"

"Don't", he said, catching her hand with his and squeezing it gently. She lowered her gaze. "Don't go blaming yourself for anything, Emma. I couldn't – I can understand why you hid like you did, it was your right. Don't blame yourself"

Her other hand closed over his, ever so hesitantly, but she did not meet his gaze. She looked so utterly vulnerable, and he wanted so much to reach out and hold her, but was afraid she might turn away if he did. _She's so afraid. I can't do this to her, especially not now_. And in the back of his mind: _what if…?_

"It was wrong of me", she finally whispered. "I shouldn't have been so selfish. If…"

He snorted, and managed to shock her enough that she finally raised her eyes. "Don't go all righteous on me", he told her. "It's your damn right to retreat and lick your wounds when something happens that takes getting used to. Everyone do that. And I came out okay, so let's not talk of what-if's, okay?"

"Sago, if you died…" she reached out as if to touch his cheek, but recalled her hand, flushing. Sago's heart skipped a beat – _so there is a chance!_ – but he said nothing, just waited for her to continue. "I've had enough of war"

"We're going to finish it", he promised her earnestly. "It already started"

"I didn't thank you, did I", she said quietly. "You saved more than lives, bringing her back to us". She swallowed and closed her eyes.

Sago has had enough. "Hi", he said softly, reaching forward with his one hand – the other was still holding hers – to touch her cheek.

She opened her eyes. "You're going to be okay, with time", she said, again in healer mode. "You've passed the worst of it, so there's not much point filling your system with medicine, but there's one which I'd rather if you take – it's the stuff Karone gave you during the night. One drop in a glass of water each time before you go to sleep"

"What does it do?" he asked, resigning himself to her sudden distance. _Later; don't push it_.

"It makes the pain manageable. It doesn't heal and it doesn't make anything hurt less, but it's good for dealing. I suppose three to seven days should do it – we'll see as time goes by"

"What's so funny?"

"It's a song – an old song - " she shook her head. "That life is gone, now". She squeezed his hand, as if reassuring herself that he really was there and okay, before pulling back and walking away quietly.

"Emma?" he called when she was already at the door. She turned and looked at him, and he could find no words to say what he wanted; her eyes spoke volumes, and he knew that she knew.

_Problem is_, he thought as she turned again and left without a word, _that I don't know._

_

* * *

_

"It's a dangerous plan"

"It will give us quite the leverage; and we have the element of surprise"

"It will give him reason to fight"

"It will give him reason to worry"

"You underestimate him"

"I do not"

"Why should he fall for such an obvious trap?"

"Because it's his one weakness"

"You are so certain"

"Because I know". Pause. "You never doubted my sight before"

"Never before was the risk so high"

"Or the potential gain so promising"

"It is reason for caution"

"It is a reason for a daring strike"

"If it fails…"

"It will not"

"…it will double the enemy's strength"

"Are you afraid?"

_Slap_.

"Never doubt me"

"You doubt yourself"

"On the contrary. As a matter of fact, you are doubting me doubly"

"This argument is pointless"

"Indeed"

"I offer you the only viable option"

"We can wait them out"

"You said yourself that the current situation must not be allowed to continue!"

"Yet the potential price of your plan is high"

"But is it too high? And what is the possible price of procrastinating?"

"You do not realize the danger that he poses"

"I have. I met him"

"Not in battle"

"He wears his weakness openly"

"Bait him, and his temper will rise"

"His temper will rise and his control will shatter. All we need is a crack, not more"

Amusedly: "You truly believe in the merit of your suggestion, don't you?"

"I do"

Pause.

"If I choose to go through with it – and I'm not saying that I will – and should it fail, I will kill you"

"If that is how you wish"

"Are you not afraid?"

"Of death? No"

"Or are you so certain?"

"That too"

"I should kill you now"

"Go ahead, then"

"Damn you for being so stubborn"

"I only aim to please"

"Then do so"

"Pardon?"

"Go. Prepare yourself. I will follow with this plan of yours"

Confidently: "It will not fail. It is a perfect trap"

"Ah, but for whom?". Pause. "Enough talking. Now go"


	38. If There Be Sorrow, last part

_Hi all. Sorry you had to wait so long for this one, but exams, you know. The exams aren't over yet (which makes this an over-two-months-long exam season - whata nightmare), but I promised. So here's an update.  
Oh, and Shelby? I tried answering your email, I really did, but I kept getting bounceback messages as if your email address doesn't exist. Which is ridiculous, 'cause I received email from you. So, if you'll supply me with another email address, i'll add you to the update-messages list (i'm sending email to all the readers whose email addresses I have whenever there's a new update). Anyone else who wants on the list is invited to give me their email address, too.  
That said, let's get down to what you've been waiting for._

**---**

**10. "If There Be Sorrow"**

_Last Part_

---

Zhane didn't return, and Sago was grateful for that: his conversation with Emma left him much to think about. _And Zhane probably knows that_, thought Sago caustically, _which is probably why he isn't here_. Still, the silence was becoming unnerving. Sago was a person of loud crowds and large parties – quiet, empty spaces tended to stress him, and he preferred to do his thinking with blaring music in the background, and a glass of something strong in his hand. Still, it was better then having any of his friends around – _because they would ask, and I have no answers. Maybe I never will_.

So it happened that Sago alone was there when Shiera woke. For several moments they looked at each other in silence. Sago's heart hammered, not sure what to do or say – how to approach someone so alien?

"Thank you". She spoke slowly and carefully, as if speaking was an effort. "For finding her"

"It was the right thing to do," he answered. _What else to say? 'You're welcome' sounds so lame_.

" 'Right' is hardly obvious", she said.

Silence, again. Sago had the feeling that she was measuring him with her eyes. Those eyes scared him. One moment she would seem like an injured predator, stressed and prepared to strike, another – and she would seem tired beyond belief; a moment – and her gaze would be calculating and cold, and another – and she would look at him with something akin to confusion. He could see Emma in her – deceptively fragile, stubbornly independent – but not Yakumo. There was nothing of the gentle Yakumo in this woman, this warrior.

_Power changes people_, whispered Karone's voice in his memory, and Sago wondered, for a fleeting moment, what the little girl he saved would grow to be like. She had power, too – and in a flash of insight, Sago realized that the power of Yakumo's gem might well consume her with time.

His musing were interrupted by Carlos' stirring. "Shiera?" he whispered, prying his eyes open, his hand moving sleepily towards his wife.

Shiera turned immediately, breaking the staring contest. "Here", she murmured. "I'm here"

"Don't go"

"I'm not going anywhere"

"You always go, even that you always promise not to"

"But I always come back"

"I thought you weren't going to. I thought I lost you this time"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't go. Please don't go. Not again"

"I'm sorry…", she whispered. "God, Carlos, I'm so sorry"

"Hi, don't cry". His finger brushed carefully against her cheek. "We've shed enough tears"

Shiera didn't answer, but she curled tightly next to her husband. Both were asleep within seconds.

Sago looked away, the silence of the room suddenly all the more oppressive. He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though. The door hissed open.

Two steps in, Karone stopped. "Was she awake?" she asked. Her face was calm, but there was a longing in her voice.

"Both of them. Just fell asleep"

Karone nodded, seeming both relieved and disappointed. "Good. They'll probably wake properly in a couple of hours' time". She eyed him sharply. "You okay?"

"I don't much like being alone" he answered.

Karone nodded, but he had a feeling she knew he was only telling her part of the truth. "Kutall, Mushra and Karen will probably drop by soon. I think they almost finished tidying up the kitchen"

"I find that hard to believe"

"That they're tidying?"

"That, and also that the kitchen is still in one piece"

Karone smiled mischievously. "It isn't"

Sago smiled back, and the smile wasn't entirely forced.

---

Scratch on her door. "Emma?"

Emma closed her eyes for a moment, and sighed. She could ignore anyone else, and they would go away; Karone would blast the door. "Come on in", she called.

"Admit it, you missed me", said Karone lightly, sitting next to Emma; the healer was practically hiding behind the couch and, unless Karone was much mistaken, those were tear marks on her face.

"As if", answered Emma, but the humor was forced.

"We need your help, Emma"

"Sago's gonna be alright, and Mushra's doing as well as can be expected"

"I wasn't talking about that". Karone paused. "And you know it"

"You need someone to monitor the comm?"

"Will you stop being an idiot?" shot Karone. She felt Emma tense next to her, and cursed inwardly. Emma could be stubborn as hell when she wanted to – and that was mostly when she was either hurt or had something to hide. _And right now it's probably both_, thought Karone caustically. _I so need to blast someone to pieces_.

"I'm just the healer", said Emma.

"A crystal healer, trained directly by Melissa". Karone paused, but Emma said nothing, and so the mage pressed on. "Those gems our Enterrans have, they're the same kind as the crystals of Netherie"

"They're Guardian gems", said Emma softly.

That was something Karone didn't know, and it wasn't a pleasant surprise. "So all this Shinzo stuff they've been saying…"

"…may well be true", finished Emma. "But none of us know how to contact the Guardians, so there"

"What in the name of the Dark is so important that the Guardians are interfering like that?"

Emma shrugged. "I'm not big on the myths. You'll have to ask Melissa"

Karone shook her head. "She's dipping deep into the Light again. I can't reach her"

"Probably following the temporal threads"

"I know that", said Karone, adding an edge of danger to her voice. Time to stop playing – they needed Emma's help, and someone needed to snap her out of her sulking. "We've got a problem and you're the only one available who can solve it"

"The Mushrambo transformation" Emma's voice was flat, expressionless.

"Since when are you a tactical thinker?"

"I'm not", said Emma, tiredness creeping into her voice again. "But I've had quite a while to think about it"

"And?"

Emma shrugged. "Whoever tore the gem apart did a very good work. The shards Kutall and Sago carry are more connected to them than to the central shard. It's a paradox: the only way Mushra can call the shards to himself is if he's Mushrambo, but he needs the shards in order to transform into Mushrambo, or if Kutall and Sago are", Emma swallowed, "neutralized. Very elegant", she added, as if in an afterthought.

"And effective", growled Karone, weighing options in her mind. "Any ways around this barrier?"

"The gems are tied into their elemental affinities. They can't give up the gems without giving up a portion of themselves, and the only other way of removing the gems from them would be a more brutal version of what Shiera did to Sago". Emma's tone of voice clearly said: _and we're not doing that_. Karone had to agree. _But…_ she frowned.

"What would happen to them if Mushra did manage to recall the shards to him?"

"They might feel down for a few days, but they'll be ultimately okay. But I told you…"

"Yes, I remember". She paused. "We need a way, Emma"

"I know", she answered. Was that anger in her voice? Or perhaps despair? "There's another who can recall the shards. Yakumo"

Karone frowned, but then she understood. "Not Karen"

"No, not Karen. Karen's gem is connected to the gem that the current Mushrambo has. The split gem is connected to the gem that the fifteen-years-old Yakumo has. She can call the gem together – or maybe her presence alone may tip the balance"

"But we don't have her"

"No, we don't"

"Any other way?"

"I'll let you know if I'll think of any"

"Thanks"

"Don't mention it"

Pause.

"Emma…"

"Please don't", she said. "Half the others tried talking to me already"

"But…"

"No but's"

"Give Shiera a chance"

Emma's laugh was short and bitter. "I think she made her opinion clear. But that's not the only thing. There's the little problem of the temporal integrity"

Karone snorted. "Melissa can fix that. You know she can"

"And then he would have to chose, and no one should face that choice"

"Not your call, Emma. You know better than making other people's choices for them"

"It still leaves Shiera. And…"

"Give them a chance", said Karone, more firmly. "Will you ever forgive yourself if you don't take this chance?"

Emma looked at her seriously, making eye contact for the first time since Karone entered her room. "Question is, will I forgive myself if I take it – and it goes wrong? Assuming she'll forgive me, of course". Emma was silent for a moment. "I don't want to lose _anyone_". She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Why, Karone? Why does it always have to be so sad?"

"I don't know, Emma"

"Aren't you going to say something like 'all things worth having come at a price'?"

"I hate sayings like that. Life should be fairer than that"

"Since when is reality fair?"

"Since when are you a pessimist?"

"I'm a realist. Always was"

"No, you weren't", said Karone. She closed her eyes as if in pain. "I should've told the Council to go to hell a long time ago. I shouldn't have let things get this bad"

"You don't really know that, Karone. Who knows what may have gone wrong if you had?"

"Do you really think it could get worse?"

"Think can always get worse"

---

_'The threads, they are shifting.'_

_'I know that'_

_'It was not meant to be so'_

_'I figured as much'_

_'We cannot interfere'_

_'You never do. You never did'_

_'We did. It never turned out for the best. Time after time, it made things worse than they were'_

_'So why are you talking to me?'_

_'Because the situation has become too dangerous. He has become one of your kind'_

_'I know that'_

_'You do?'_

_'Are you surprised?'_

_'We did not know that you are aware'_

_'He is of my kind'_

_'That was the point'_

_'Precisely'_

_'Ah'. Pause. 'May we make a request?'_

_'That I would finish what I began?'_

_'You would do it, than?'_

_'I would, but not for you'_

_'We ask for no more'_


	39. Phoenix of Enterra, part 1

_Shorter and later than I wanted it to be, but I figured i'd better update first and write more later - especially as that was such a natural update-break point._

_Tell me what you think?

* * *

_

**10. Phoenix of Enterra**

_First Part_

---

"I'm ready"

"Found what you were looking for?"

"Yes. It should be easy"

"Arrogant as always"

"Shall I give the order?"

"Yes. It is time"

---

_"I dare not kill you; I dare not let you live free. Therefore, you must live – bound. Already you are bound, though you know it not. You are bound to a mission, which you took upon yourself thousands of years ago, perhaps ten of thousands of years, or even more; I do not know. It doesn't matter._

_"You have a mission to accomplish, and I will make sure you do not stray again. I will bind you to her life. You will seek her out; you will wait for her if she delays. When you find her, you will serve her: you will help her, you will protect her, you will do all that is necessary for the completion of the mission. Yet, you will not know why you do so; you will not know who you are – even now you do not know, but you will know even less."_

---

He was unprepared when the alarms blared. Fraction of a second later, though, he scrambled out of bed even as Carlos and Shiera – apparently woken by the noise – did so. The expression on their faces mostly mirrored his own emotions – worry, determination and a certain degree of anger – though he quite hoped he didn't look as bone-weary as they did. Shiera hardly looked strong enough to stand on her own, and Carlos didn't seem much better off.

"We'll be skewered for this", said Carlos matter-factly as they walked outside the infirmary.

"Any idea what's going on?" inquired Shiera sharply. "What's been happening all day?"

"Nothing, as far as I know", said Sago. "Except that Mushrambo and Rusphine were holed up together for an awfully long time"

"It's going to be a mess, no matter what", growled Carlos. "So who cares about the details?"

---

_'I had no idea it was that serious'_

_'No one did. Well, he did, once upon a time, before he was corrupted. If he fails, though…'_

_'I don't think he'll fail'_

_'We doubt he may be redeemed'_

_'I think I managed to teach him a lesson, last time around'_

_'Ah yes, that was worrisome'_

_'I was aiming more for 'effective' '_

_'Can it be undone?'_

_'I think so. He's been showing signs of improvement, from what you tell me'_

_'Yet he hasn't yet recovered'_

---

"The birdpeople are attacking", said Emma, not bothering to turn her head and look at them as they entered: her eyes were glued to the screen. She and Karen were the only people in an otherwise deserted Ops. "And I'm going to kill you later"

"Save it. How many?" asked Shiera, practically collapsing into a chair; the walk to Ops seemed to cost her what little strength she had regained.

"Not too bad. We can win this. Everyone else is already out there. Engagement in…" she glanced at the watch, but didn't say whatever she was going to say, because precisely at that moment the Rangers and Kutall have reached the Enterrans, and battle begun.

---

_'What the hell was that?'_

_'Trouble'_

_'I wouldn't have guessed'_

_'Actually, you haven't'_

_'I don't like it when you say stuff like that'_

_'I don't like it when stuff like this happens'_

_'You're gonna tell me what this is about?'_

_'When I'm certain'_

---

"I am sick and tired of fighting!" growled Tommy, punctuating each word with a well-aimed shot. "Is a single day of peace and quite too much to ask for?" He signed his argument by throwing a fuel grenade into a flock of birdpeople. Nearly the entire flock caught fire.

"I was under the impression that this is what you do for a living?" inquired Kutall mildly, knocking a winged captain out of the air.

"Don't remind me"

---

_'To fight fire with fire has never been the way of the Guardians'_

_'I know'_

_'Then why have you done this?'_

_'Because he is beyond us'_

_'Which of them?'_

_'Both'_

---

"Your warriors are losing"

"I know"

"You meant for them to lose?"

"Of course"

"Interesting tactics"

"They're expendable, and I need time"

"Ah, yes. _Time_"

---

"Looks like they're having fun", said Sago. And indeed, that's what it looked like: despite that they were outnumbered at least ten to one – if not twenty – the defenders were holding their own.

"Caris – is he there?" asked Shiera.

"Not that I can see him", said Emma, fingers flying over the console as she scanned the battle from several angles.

"Warn them", said Shiera, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "Rusphine's predictable like that. This force is just a gambit, to try and soften the guys out before the main blow strike, or maybe to keep them in the air where they're more vulnerable to her attacks"

"Karone's out there", reminded her Emma. "I don't think there's anything Rusphine can dish out that Karone can't counter, except maybe another temporal portal"

"Where_ is_ Rusphine?" Frowned Sago. "I didn't see her on any of the images"

"She's flying above the battle, for now"

"Emma, send out the warning, will you?"

Emma flipped a switch. "Attention, everyone. Caris is out of sight. Be ready for one trap or the other"

"Got it", said Tommy. "Any idea what that trap may be?"

Emma shook her head, even that he couldn't see her. "No clue", she told the comm board. "Ask Karone, that's her job"

"Karone is busy skewering winged nuisances", growled Karone over the comm. "No new insights, except maybe that I'll have three more people to skewer when we get back to base"

Emma looked over her shoulder. "Get in line"

"Thanks", said Carlos wryly.

"I heard that", said Karone. "That's what you get for getting out of bed when you're supposed to be sleeping. Karone out"

"Ops out", said Emma and flipped down the hail-all. "She's right, you know"

"As long as everyone get home safe, I don't care if you kill me later", said Shiera shortly.

"Knock it off, you two", said Carlos tiredly.

"Where's Mushrambo?" asked Sago suddenly.

"Can't see him", said Emma shortly. "Can't point down his energy signature, either, so he must be cloaking himself and lurking close by"

"He can cloak himself?" asked Sago, surprised.

"Why do think he's still alive?" asked Shiera rhetorically.

"Point taken", said Sago. Was it his imagination, or was Emma smiling a little?

---

"They are capable"

"As warriors? Yes"

"Some of them have magic"

"I noticed"

"Are they not dangerous?"

"Against that which I wield? No"

---

Within five minutes, the attacking birdpeople were decimated to a tenth of their previous number.

"Why don't they retreat?" wondered Kutall.

"With Rusphine watching them?" asked Kat, who once again found herself fighting by Kutall's side. She shook her head. "They'd rather die by our hand than by hers, and she _would_ kill her own troops for anything even remotely like cowardice. Why do you think they're fighting so hard? They're more scared of her than of us"

"Powerful as she is, she's still just one person. Why don't they overthrow her, if they hate her so much?"

" 'Fear' and 'anger' are not the same thing. They fear her, but they hate us more; and she's Mushrambo's favorite, as much as he has favorites. And above all, they fear and respect Mushrambo"

"It all comes down to him, doesn't it"

She never got to answer him, because at that moment Karone's voice rang out: "Regroup, regroup! Pull back and regroup!"


	40. Phoenix of Enterra, part 2

_I'm sorry that it took so long. It probably doesn't look it, but this update took a lot of careful work. It isn't as long asi'd rather it would be, probably not as good either, but I figured you guys have waited more than long enough._

_I hope you enjoy. Read and review!

* * *

_

**10. Phoenix of Enterra**

_Second Part_

* * *

"Regroup, regroup!" Karone's voice rang out, magically enhanced. Stressed, she fell back to what was most natural to her – and that was magic, not a comm button. 

"What the hell is that thing?" demanded Jason.

"Bad news!"

"No shit, Sherlock!"

* * *

Back at Ops, everyone leaned forward. 

"What the hell…?" muttered Carlos.

"No clue", said Emma; Shiera just shook her head.

Sago, though, recognized what they were looking at. He's seen it before, and his stomach tied itself in knots as he realized.

* * *

She would've laughed if she could spare the concentration. Rusphine was pretty sure that the pesky humans haven't anticipated this turn of events – and certainly, they had no idea what would come next. 

Oh yeah, they were doomed.

* * *

Sago swallowed. "It's a portal", he said, mouth suddenly dry. "It's another portal like the one the other Rusphine used to send us here" 

Emma's eyes went wide. She flipped open the hail-all switch, and yelled: "Time portal!"

"Back to base, now!" yelled Karone sharply. "Open that hangar!"

"Doors open!" called Emma.

"Get moving, don't stand there and watch it!" yelled Tommy, too. "Move it, people, you heard Ka…"

* * *

_"That which you abused, you will be denied; that which you do not appreciate, you will be denied as well. Your power and your identity: both I strip away from you._

_"Yes, you may smile. You know well that I cannot take away your gem; that it has bonded with you, and you think that none can rob you of this power. You're right, and you're wrong. I can't completely take the power from you, I can't break the bond between you and the gem. But I **can** break the gem, and when it shatters so will you"_

* * *

Tommy never finished his sentence, and no one would've heard him, anyway: they were all staring at the fully opened portal, wondering who or what Rusphine had summoned to her aid.

* * *

At Ops, Sago and the three humans were staring at the screen just as intently. Emma zoomed in as much as possible, and the portal filled out the screen. For several long seconds, nothing seemed to happen. Then, quite slowly, the tip of a large, blackened shape begun to appear through the portal. 

"Whatever it is, it's been through quite the fire", said Carlos quietly. "But what is it?"

Inch by inch, the shape slid through the portal, and Sago leaped to his feet when he realized what it was.

"Hakuba!", he breathed. "This must be from just shortly after we came through – the city was burning, and we left Yakumo and the kittens with Hakuba, but they were at some distance from the city…"

Shiera, too, leaped to her feet and was grabbing the edge of one of the consoles so hard that her knuckles turned white. Carlos was holding back his wife.

"Yakumo?" frowned little Karen, who kept quite so far.

"She's sort of your sister", said Emma quietly, as no one else seemed to know how to answer the little child's question. "You have very similar pendants. She's older than you, though". She looked at the comm board: the hail-all was still open. "You heard that, guys?"

"We have", said Tommy grimly. "Kutall, Sago – how much damage can Hakuba take? It looks bad"

"Not sure", said Kutall.

"Sago?"

"Likewise"

All the time they were speaking, Hakuba was slowly inching out of the portal. When Tommy asked his question, Hakuba was almost fully out; when Sago answered, Hakuba was fully out of the portal and it closed behind the pod. That was when Mushrambo struck, out of nowhere. Hakuba's hood opened, and out fell four shapes. Mushrambo dove after one of them.

Ops was a total chaos – everyone seemed to shout at once – but it was over before any of them could do anything.

* * *

Tommy didn't even bother to try issuing orders. Everyone knew what to do: the Enterrans and those Rangers who were fast enough – namely, Zhane and the pinks – went for the falling kids. Everyone else opened fire at every bird-warrior within site. Karone was at Rusphine, burning with a purplish-blue fire that didn't bode well for the sorceress queen. Tommy joined the melee.

* * *

Slightly smaller than her brothers, Estee was falling that much faster. Cassie was racing towards her at breakneck speed. Kat and Kutall were targeting the twins. There was a faint green light about the kittens and the pursuers alike – Ashley was hoping them to safety, if Kutall was guessing right. 

He was now close enough that he could hear his nephews screaming. Seconds later, with Rei safe in his arms and Kat holding a frantic Sen, Kutall wanted nothing more than to tear down Mushrambo – but he had the kittens to take care of first. "Hand him here" he told Kat, and she handed him the kitten without a word. Sen snuggled into his uncle's embrace. "What happened?" asked Kutall, looking down at the kittens.

"Yakumo thought she can reason with Rusphine", explained Rei. "She was awfully worried about all of you, and so were we, so we told Hakuba to had for the city. Then the bird queen came". Rei shuddered. "She said awful things, uncle"

"Don't worry about that" said Kutall promptly.

A pink streak slowed down. Cassie's morphed form, holding a wide-eyed Estee, joined Kat and Kutall. "Get the kids back to the base, now" she said, dislodging Estee into Kutall's arms.

Kat nodded. "We'll cover for you until you're safe inside. Go, now"

Kutall looked up at the raging battle. Rangers and Birdpeople were everywhere. Mushrambo and Mushra were higher still, moving so fast they were only two blurs of colors.

"Where's Yakumo?" he asked abruptly.

* * *

She was falling, falling so fast, but the ground was incredibly far away – maybe someone would catch her. Yakumo screamed, wishing with every fiber of her being for the one whom she knew must came and save her, for their destinies were intertwined. 

"Mushrambo!"

* * *

Mushra howled with anger and fear as he saw Yakumo fall. He launched himself in her direction, but Mushrambo intercepted him physically, slamming into Mushra with a force that sent them both way off-course. Mushra reacted with a brutal burst of fire that, unstructured as it was, would have toasted a lesser opponent. Mushrambo was not even phased, striking back easily and not letting go of his opponent. With Yakumo is such a grave danger, Mushra was not thinking coherently. He needed to get to Yakumo – he had to save her. His blood was singing, screaming, but no matter how hard he fought, Mushrambo blocked his every move. He could not get away. He had to get through Mushrambo in order to save Yakumo. 

He had to kill Mushrambo.

His shoulder exploded in pain.

* * *

"Mushrambo!" She cried, again and again, but he wasn't coming. She could sense him; she could sense Mushra and the others, too, but everything she sensed was strange, echoes distorting her mental image of the world. She pushed stronger, harder with her mind and heart, trying to reach out for the one who _had_ to come for her. No avail. 

Then the pendant at her chest lit up, glowing brighter than a sun. Her hands closed around in, instinctively, and suddenly that tremendous power opened up to her, became her. The world seemed to slow down and halt as she channeled the power of her pendant into one desperate cry: "Mushrambo!"

* * *

He heard that cry; he heard it echoing in his bones, he heard his blood boiling at it. He couldn't see, he could hear nothing but her voice, calling out to him. There was nothing but the call – and the opponent blocking him from answering the call. He would not fail, though: he couldn't fail. It was built deeply into him, the instinct to find her, the compulsion to protect her. The urgency of her cry unleashed from him a power he did not know he had, making him reach out into the others – calling, summoning, commanding. They had what he needed, and he would recall that. 

It was time.

* * *

In Ops, Sago fell to his knees as pain assailed him, striking through his head like so many knives. Something inside him was twisting, turning, yearning to be free; it was tearing up the rest of Sago's being. Images returned to him, weak and faint: _take me to him, it is not mine…_

But he did not know what the words meant. He could hear the others shouting around him, could feel Emma's hand against his face. He was slipping, and he knew it. He struggled desperately to answer them, to resume command of his body, but it was failing him. He would not be free until whatever it was inside him would free itself.

Then, suddenly, the dam broke.

* * *

Kutall never knew what hit him. Cassie was quicker: she caught all three kittens before they fell far, and headed towards the base without looking back, holding the three as they struggled to get out of her arms, back tot their uncle. 

Kat had caught Kutall, but he was writhing and twisting, lost in a seizure that she did not understand. He was too strong for her, even morphed as she was, and they were both going down. She only hoped that she would manage to slow their fall enough.

Suddenly Kutall's body froze, his back arched back in pain. He let out one long, single cry. Then it was over; _or rather_, thought Kat as her eyes traced the gem that was flying through the air, _it's only just beginning_.

* * *

_"So long, Dark King of Enterra. Now you die"_

_"I will be reborn, princess grace". Mushrambo looked up at her, his face proud despite that he was bound, despite that already he was slipping into oblivion. "I will walk this planet again"_

_"As Yakumo's protector" whispered the redhead, bringing her face very close to his own. "Not as her would-be murderer"_

_"I am dark; she is Light"_

_"She is Light", agreed the redhead. "But you are Spirit. What magic twisted you I do not know, but this is not how you were meant to be. For what it's worth, I'm sorry"_

_"Save… your breath", he whispered, and then he screamed as he shattered - spirit, mind and body._

_She picked up the young, fragile body, nursing him in her arms. "Hello, baby boy", she said quietly. Her fingers traced his tiara, dripping golden light against its faint red glow. "Welcome to your new life, you who are now my brother"_


	41. Phoenix of Enterra, part 3

_Anyone who wants to be added to the update mailing list, so that you'd be notified of new updates as soon as I post them, please either drop me a lineon email (my address is on my profile page, accesible even if you're not registered to or,if you're registered members, you can send me a message with your email through the "private message" feature (also from my profile page._

_Enjoy, and please review!_

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* * *

**

**10. Phoenix of Enterra**

_Third Part_

---

_Fly hard. Don't look back_. She was the fastest, and she knew it. Zhane or Kimberly could outmaneuver her, but this was pure racing, and nobody could beat pink Astro on sheer speed in the air. It was all for the best, as gliding with three struggling kittens in her arms, without losing any of them, was quite the task.

She all but dropped them on the Hangar's floor as soon as they were inside.

"Don't go anywhere!" she snapped, taking down her helmet and hanging it on her belt. The kittens showed no intention of going anywhere – they scrambled and stood together, facing her. Something was wrong – someone should have waited for them, or made contact with them. "Follow me"

"Why should we?" challenged the girl.

_Think fast_. "Sago's that way", she said, pointing down the corridor that led to Ops. "Are you coming?"

They came, alright. Cassie smiled to herself. The smile turned into a frown as they entered Ops, and found Emma and Shiera arguing over an unconscious Sago.

"Get _away_ - "

"That's power withdrawal, Emma, let me handle it - "

"You _think_, after you died on me yesterday - "

"What's going on here?" interrupted Cassie. "No, don't - " The kittens seemed to think that Emma and Shiera had hurt Sago. Cassie tried to grab them – but Karen got it first.

The three stopped in their tracks, looking at the human child who was slightly smaller than they.

"It's okay", said Karen softly. "They're helping him. He's going to be fine"

"I was going to ask _you_ what's going on", said Carlos. "You were the one who got to see it"

"Got to see what?"

"Whatever that caused Sago and Kutall to collapse simultaneously?"

"Emma, are you going to let me do my job or not?" asked Shiera irritably.

"Right now, your job is to stay alive", retorted Emma. "Stay out of my way"

"Where are the gems?" asked one of the boys.

_What gems?_ Cassie was going to ask, but then she looked at Sago's helmet and realized: the three blue gems were not there.

The comm beeped. "I could use a teleport, here!" called Kat's voice. "Kutall's unconscious and I can't wake him"

"Right away" said Carlos.

"Stay put" growled Cassie, pushing him into the nearest swivel chair, "You don't look well enough to stand". She locked on Kat's and Kutall's comm buttons, and teleported them in. Once glance confirmed what she already suspected. "No gem either"

"Well, duh" said Shiera.

Karen could keep the kittens away from Sago, but not from their uncle. They were around him in seconds.

"What happened to him?"

"He's going to be okay", said Cassie, hoping as hell that she wasn't lying.

"His body isn't used to not having the gem", volunteered Shiera. "He'll readapt in a few moment, probably"

"What happened to the gem?"

_Good question_, agreed Cassie silently.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Cassie turned to Carlos, but he shook his head. Emma was busy tending to Sago.

"It wasn't his", said Karen. She spoke slowly, as if she wasn't sure of the words she was saying. "The gem belonged with neither of them. Now it's with the one who it belongs with"

Cassie tried to say something, but her voice was overridden by the kittens'. Not that it mattered, as they were all trying to say the same thing anyway.

Karen looked at them with her large eyes. "Of course there was only one gem", she said. "It was always the one gem. It was just broken down, that's all. Now he called it back to him, and they're whole again"

Cassie swallowed. Did "they" mean what she thought it meant?

"They?" asked the girl-kitten.

"Mushrambo and his gem" said Shiera quietly. She changed the pan on the screens. "It's the battle of the two Mushrambo", she said. "Anybody for popcorn?"

---

The Dark King's eyes widened in surprise. Two streaks of light shot into his opponent, one blue and one green, and then a great beam of golden-white came down from the clouds, spearing his opponent and blowing the Dark King away. Curious, he waited to see what would happen… and was shocked when his own face, prouder and more noble, looked at him knowingly from under a topknot of glowing golden hair.

"Who are you?" demanded the King.

"In the name of Enterra", said the Golden One, raising his broadsword, "and in the sake of the Light, I have been summoned to banish you into oblivion"

"Fool", snarled the Dark King. "I am Mushrambo, samurai retainer of the Infinite Darkness, Dark King of Enterra, and you shall fall before me like all whom had ever challenged me!" He raised his ketana and held it in front of him, challenging his rival.

"I am Mushrambo", said the Dark King's rival, "samurai retainer of the Light, emissary of Spirit. I am your doom"

They both charged forward, swords crossing to the hilt. The Dark King forced his opponent's sword down, propelling himself upwards, and shot down a stream of lightning, which the Golden One coolly deflected with an energy shield.

"You never had a blow that you could not block yourself", said the Golden One, spiraling upward to meet his rival, "and all that you can do, so can I. This shall not be a battle of magi, of minds or of wills: this shall be a duel of swords". He charged forward, his sword moving so fast that the Dark King was forced to defend rather than retaliate.

"Have it your way", snarled the Dark King, but his mind was working furiously. This opponent was every bit as fast and skilled as he, and unlike that green devil of a human – the only other worthy adversary the Dark King has ever had – he was cool of mind and spirit and would not respond to taunting.

The Dark King's lips pulled back into a thin predatory smile. Finally, he thought as he blocked, spun, and attacked, somebody worth my time.

---

This was _not_ going good. Her plan worked perfectly right up until that pod came through the portal. Then suddenly there was a second Mushrambo fighting her lord – and one of the humans turned out to be a mage: a powerful, skilled, seriously pissed-off mage who was also expert with the staff she pulled out of thin air.

"I am Rusphine, mistress of Time", snarled Rusphine as she managed to throw back her opponent for a second. "You shall not beat me!"

"Think again!" snarled the blond, younger woman. "I've never lost and I don't intend to lose today!"

"Same here!"

To the Enterran's surprise, the younger human threw back her head and laughed. She spread her arms and then brought them together in front of her, both hands firmly grasping the staff. Blue and purple energy crackled around the staff, shooting from its top and arcing back to the human, blowing past her like a strange wind. Rusphine shielded her eyes. When the light passed, and human was dressed in white armour with blue and purple accents, her eyes the same shade of blue-purple as the blowing light.

"I am Karone to the house of Ejernor, heir to Zordon of Light, blue Light Bearer of the tradition of Netherie", said the human, finally introducing herself. "And you, Rusphine queen of the Birdpeople under the Dark King, are a dead woman"

---

White light washed over her, suspending her in midair.

_Our child_, whispered voices in her head. _Finally you call upon your power_.

"Who are you?" she wondered.

_We are the Celestial Guardians of Shinzo_, whispered the voices. _Behold the tradition you are heir to_.

And she saw; but not all of it made sense.

"Who…?" she began to ask.

_Shush, not yet_, whispered the voices. _Soon all will be revealed_.

The light faded, and she could see again. She was still suspended in midair – no, she was flying. She could fly! High above her she could see the battle raging. The humans were winning, despite that their numbers were that much smaller; Rusphine was nowhere to be seen, perhaps already beaten; and the Two Mushrambo were still doing battle.

"Fight, my Champion", she said quietly. "You must win, Champion of Enterra. We cannot afford to lose"

---

_We cannot afford to lose_. He heard her words in his heart, even that she was far from him. He charged forward as if this was a cue that he had been waiting for, and the tip of his sword grazed the cheek of his opponent, drawing blood. The Golden Mushrambo retreated.

The Dark King's hand traveled to his cheek. "What…?" He asked, staring at his fingers in disbelief. "How can it be?"

"There had always been only one who could kill you", said the Golden One quietly. "You had always known that you would live for as long as you wanted to. I am you – a future you, tempered and purified by fire and time. And now, you pass. Farewell"

Golden light was dripping from the wound, and it burned away the skin of the Dark King's face and of the fingers with which he'd touched the wound. The light seemed almost corporeal as it flowed down, first thick and slow like molasses and then quick like running water. And when it reached the midsection of the Dark King it penetrated him, showing through the other side. Within seconds, the Dark King was gone.

Mushrambo raised his bowed head and looked about him; the battle had essentially ceased during the last moment of his confrontation with his past, evil self; humans and Enterrans alike were staring at him in awe.

His heart sighed, but he knew what it is that he must do.

"I am Mushrambo", he declared. "I am now the supreme ruler of Enterrans. Is there any among you who question my authority? Rise and speak!"

The birdpeople gathered in front of him, all of them making sure to fly lower than he. Caris, Rusphine's favorite captain, was their spokesperson.

"We bow to you, Mushrambo, King of Enterra", he said. "We shall answer to no other"

"What of your queen?" asked Mushrambo, even that he already knew what the answer would be.

"Queen Rusphine passed on the battlefield today", replied Caris.

Mushrambo nodded. "Gather our people, captain Caris", he said gently. "Not just the birdpeople; all the Enterrans who are here or who may gather here by sundown. At dusk, I shall speak to them all"

"As you wish, the King" said Caris, but he looked dubiously behind Mushrambo's shoulder, at the humans.

"The humans will not interfere with you", said Mushrambo, "so long as you do not pick a fight with them"

"Yes, my King" said Caris, but his tone was skeptic. Yet he and the other birdpeople turned their back on the humans and flew off to their task.

Mushrambo turned, and found himself facing the leader of the Rangers.

"Musrambo", said the human.

"Tommy", acknowledged Mushrambo.

Tommy nodded shortly. "We're heading back to the base. You're coming? I think some explanations are due"

"Certainly", said Mushrambo. "Though I do not know all the details, myself"

"We'll live", said Karone dryly, descending to meet with the two of them. "In the meantime, there's someone you should pick up on your way to the base". She pointed to a small blur down on the ground.

"Yakumo", said Mushrambo softly.

"This", said Tommy, "is what I'd call a mess"


	42. Phoenix of Enterra, last part

_Yes, yes, I know, eight weeks between updates do not make readers happy. I blame Uni and work, as usual._

_Why was this one so hard to write? Well... this is the end of the first season. As of the next chapter, this story is going to utilize second season plotlines, so... grin_

_Enjoy, and please review!_

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**11. Phoenix of Enterra**

_Last Part_

---

He landed in front of her, softly, no dust rising where his booted feet touched ground. She was in his arms almost before he knew it.

"You won!" she said, hugging him. "I was afraid for you"

"And I, for you" he answered quietly.

She pulled back and looked up at him, her eyes larger than ever. "Where are we?"

"The question is 'when', not 'where'. We have traveled five hundred years back in time"

Her lips silently formed the words 'five hundred' before she spoke. "You mean… this is the time of the Great War? Is my father…?"

"Your parents are both alive. There is a story to tell. Also…" he hesitated. "The child that you were is also here"

Her hand covered her mouth.

"Will you come with me?" he asked. "All would be explained, and many people are waiting for us"

"Yes", she said. "I'm ready"

---

He held her close for the flight, and she did not want it to end. Yet it was a short flight, and after a short moment the mountain had opened up before them. Many people waited for them, there – most of them strangers, but two of them she knew.

"Sago! Kutall!"

They smiled and opened their arms for her. Both seemed tired, very much so, and Sago's smile had a sadness to it that was not there when last she saw him. Then Rei, Sen and Esti demanded attention, too, and all in all several good moment passed before she finally felt someone's gaze. Yakumo turned around slowly.

Four of the strangers, standing so close together that they were touching. The man was very tall, pale with exhaustion and grey in his hair, but his eyes shone as he looked at her. He was holding one of the women – she appeared even more tired than he, and her eyes swallowed Yakumo hungrily. The other woman held a child in her arms – and in both their faces, Yakumo could see herself.

"Who are you?" she whispered, but she already knew: _your parents are waiting for you_.

The second woman put the child down and walked forward, smiling, her arms open wide. "I'm Emma. You must be Yakumo"

"Are you…?"

"Your aunt", said Emma gently. She embraced Yakumo, briefly, and then pulled towards where the rest of their family was waiting. The woman who had to be her mother pulled Yakumo into a fierce hug, obviously too choked to say a word; the man who had to be her father wrapped them both as tightly in his arms.

"I can't believe this", whispered Yakumo as they finally separated.

"You'd better", said her father hoarsely. "Do you remember my name?" He didn't seem surprise as she shook her head. "You remember Dr. Tatsuro as your father, don't you"

She frowned. "He wasn't?"

"He took care of us", said the little girl. "After the evil one tried to kill us. He made sure the evil one won't find us"

Yakumo looked at the child, and finally she realized who she had to be. "You… we…"

"I'm your past", said the little girl, "but you're not my future"

"I should hope so", said Sago dryly. "It'd be awfully sad if we survived everything that happened these past two weeks, and everything would turn out precisely the same"

Yakumo whirled. "Two weeks?"

"Yes", said Kutall. "It had been two weeks for us, since being cast through the time portal"

"But it's been hardly an hour for me…"

"For us, too!" said Estee.

"Time is a strange thing", said one of the men – of average height, with three golden strips in his hair. "Hardly linear, not that we usually notice it"

"You've been hanging with Melissa too much, Andros" said the man standing next to him – tall and blond.

"Cryptic sayings are passed along in the family", said a brunette woman dryly.

Then it hit Yakumo. She'd been missing something since they landed in the hanger, but she hadn't quite grasped it in the excitement of it all. Now fear grasped her heart. "Where's Mushra?" she asked. "Why's he not here?"

Everyone looked at each other.

"That's a really good question", said Kutall, finally.

"Which everyone else would like answered, too", added Sago.

"What happened to him?"

"He never were", said her mother, and those were the first words Yakumo heard from her. "He was a construct, Karen. A prison"

"What - " Yakumo blinked, confused, tears rising in her eyes. Mushrambo stepped closer to her, putting his hand on her shoulder, offering comfort.

"Your mother is correct, even if her words are harsh", he said.

She turned to him. "What do you mean? I don't understand"

"It is hard to explain". He hesitated. "Two gems had been cast on this planet, when the meteor fell", he said slowly. "One is embedded in the pendant you wear. The other chose an Enterran – myself". He bowed his head. "When the gem broke, so did the identity that I had. Two fractions of the gem were cast away, and in time came into the possession of Sago and Kutall. The other gem remained with what was left of me – the boy you knew as Mushra"

"What?" she whispered, but her voice was drowned, as everyone in the room seemed to talk at once. Yakumo paid no heed to that, though. "Mushrambo…" Her finger touched his chin, tilting his head so that their eyes made contact. "I trust you. I can't help but trust you. If you say that this is so, I'll have to accept it, but…" and now the tears fell from her eyes.

"I'm sorry", he said simply, and she buried her face in his chest.

Looking past them, Sago bit his lip as he noticed Shiera's stormy expression.

"She really hates him, doesn't she?" he asked Kutall. "Even that he pretty much saved the day. Even that he didn't kill her daughter"

"She hated him for years", said Kutall. "That would be hard to let go"

"Shiera isn't a grudge-holder", offered Kat, who was standing right next to them. "Whatever anger she still has, it'll soon pass"

"I hope so", said Sago.

"You're not the only one". Kat indicated at Emma, who was quietly distancing herself from the developing scene between Mushrambo and Shiera. "This is really taking a toll on her – she always takes the fall for whatever drama Shiera and Carlos get caught up in"

"She and Shiera are really close, aren't they", asked Sago.

"Maybe too close" said Karone darkly. She'd drifted in their direction while they were talking to Kat. She poked Sago's shoulder. "Do us all a favour and go after her, okay?" By now Emma was by the hangar's door.

"Me? But…"

"She'd better not run on you again", said Karone. "And if she uses Shiera for an excuse, kindly remind her that _I'll_ take care of that"

Sago stared at her.

"What?" she said. "Now go after her, before she locks herself in her room again"

---

"Emma…"

She stopped, but did not turn around to face him.

"I want to be alone"

"Do you, really?"

"Yes"

"I don't believe you". Sago noticed Emma's shoulder tensing, and he continued quickly, before she'd walk away: "You want some peace, yes, and safety. But alone? I don't think you've ever really wanted to be alone"

"So I noticed", she said, turning around. "I can't seem to get much along time with you around"

"Is it such a bad thing?"

She hesitated. "No. Not really"

They stood like that for a moment, looking at each other across the hallway, and then, slowly, Sago started to close the distance between them. Emma stood motionless – not running away, but not approaching Sago, either. Two feet apart, Sago stopped. He was close enough that he could see the tear stains on her face.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. Her voice was strangely choked. "With the loss of the gem…"

"I'm surprisingly okay", said Sago, swallowing back a disappointment he didn't quite understand. "Weak, but almost better than I was before"

"Really, now" She took a step forward, and gently touched her hand to his cheek. "Ah", she said softly. "It's broken, now that the gem is gone. Shiera's barrier", she explained, seeing the confusion on this face. "It disappeared when the gem shard left you. This is why you're feeling better – that wall isn't there to tear you up"

"Still, without the gem… it's a loss in itself"

"Such is life. To everything, good and evil, there is a price" Her hand left his cheek, but Sago caught it. She stared at him.

"Please don't", he heard himself say. "It makes me feel I'm losing you"

He did _not_ mean to say that. Emma's eyes widened.

"You're not going to lose me", was all she said.

"This is not what it feels like. When you're turning away, pulling apart… trying to distance yourself. It feels like I'm losing you". Now that there was no turning back, he may well say what was on his mind.

"Sago… are you trying to tell me something?"

"Yes". And there was his answer, in her eyes, her lips, the trembling of her hand in his. "You're… you too"

"Sago, I can't…" She moved as if to turn away, but she halted when he moved to compensate for that. _And she isn't denying what she's feeling, either_, he thought. _Still trying to pull away, though_.

"Why?" he asked. "Why can't you, Emma?"

"You know why?"

"What? Shiera?" That seemed like the most likely answer. "It isn't all Enterrans she hate, or so everyone seem to tell me. And if she does have some objections, Karone had asked me to tell you that she'd take care of it" _And it's your life, not your sister's_, he wanted to add, but figured that Shiera apparently being all that's left of Emma's family, that wouldn't be a smart thing to say.

She said something, too quietly for him to hear. "What?" he asked.

"I'm afraid of losing you, too" she said, slightly more loudly.

"The war is _over_, Emma. Really and truly over"

"Doesn't mean I'm not afraid"

He'd let go of her wrist and, quickly, before she could turn away as she was apt to do, he'd put his arms around her and pulled her close. "Please, Emma", he whispered into her hair.

"Please, what?"

"Don't turn away from me"

She twisted, looking up at him. "I can't", she whispered. "For a while I wished I could, but…" Her voice trailed off as Sago's thumb caressed her cheek. "No turning away", she whispered. "No turning around, for either of us"

"No turning around", he echoed. "It's a promise"

She swallowed. "I'll hold you to that"

"I fully expect you to"

And then, ever so slowly, she rose on her toes as he leaned forward. It was the briefest of kisses, just the touch of one pair of lips against another, but it was a promise.

They may have stood that way for hours, just holding and looking into each other's eyes, but then the door leading from the hangar was thrown open and hit the wall with a bang, making Sago and Emma startle and break apart.

Zhane looked at the seriously.

"Melissa is here", he said.


	43. The Phoenixes, part 1

_Well, folks, here it is. The official opening of second-season material on "The Phoenixes". If any of you ever wondered why this story is called "The Phoenixes" - in plural form - you're finally going to get your answer: very little action in this chapter, but finally some clear answers._

_Enjoy, and please review!

* * *

_

**12. The Phoenixes**

_First Part_

---

They may have stood that way for hours, just holding and looking into each other's eyes, but then the door leading from the hangar was thrown open and hit the wall with a bang, making Sago and Emma startle and break apart.

Zhane looked at the seriously.

"Melissa is here", he said.

_Melissa_. It took Sago a moment to place the name: Andros and Karone's cousin, Emma's mentor.

"Melissa?" Already Emma was moving forward, back towards the hangar. Sago moved quickly, trying to stay by her side. "What she's doing here?"

"Something about the Celestial Guardians"

"What?" Emma stopped right in front of Zhane. "Zhane, they're a legend"

"They just don't like to interfere much". It was a stranger's voice, coming from the hangar. Looking past Zhane's shoulder, Sago could see the speaker – a woman, dressed in an orange and gold version of Karone's armour, a heavy mass of dark red curls falling past her waist.

"I wouldn't have guessed", said Karone caustically. "They didn't interfere with anything since…" The words died on her lips, and her eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding"

"Sadly, I'm not". Melissa's head swiped the room. "Is there anywhere where we can talk?"

"Ops is just down the hall", suggested someone.

"No", said Tommy. "Let's take this downstairs where we can all sit down"

---

It was a strange gathering. They settled in what was probably a rec room, the large pack of warriors spreading haphazardly on the sofas and beanbags, forming a loose circle. Sago found himself on one of the sofas, with Yakumo next to him and Emma on Yakumo's other side. Mushrambo and Shiera were each on either side of the sofa, the tension between them so thick that Sago could hardly breath. Kutall was at a small distance from them, sitting comfortably on the largest beanbag with the three kittens in his lap. Karen chose to sit on the carpet in front of her 'sister's' sofa, not quite being part of the circle.

When everyone appeared to be comfortable, Melissa began to talk.

"This story begins in the legendary place of Shinzo: 'legendary', because many legends have been told of it, but also very real, as are its Guardians. The Guardians are immortal beings, non-corporeal though they may appear to mortal eyes if so they chose. The Guardians considers themselves keepers of life in this universe. There are others who also claim this purpose, and once upon a time all Keepers worked in harmony.

"Then something happened that should have never happened: a Guardian of Shinzo turned foul and, calling to him a race of beings called Kadrians, made war on the other Guardians. At first he appeared to be winning, because the Guardians were taken by surprise and did not know how to fight one of their own. But a young Guardian rose, who was unafraid and daring, and he taught the other Guardians to make war. This young Guardian caused a turning of the tide. The Celestial Guardians fought back from the brink of utter defeat, and had managed to reach a match. Still, they could not defeat the renegade. Even if they could find a way to destroy him, they dared not: to the fate of each Guardian was tied the fate of a life-bearing planet. To sentence the renegade to death would also destroy that planet and its species, and the Guardians could not do that. There was only one solution they could think of: to trap the renegade in a tomb of dead stone, and cast him into the vastness of space for all eternity. Yet this solution had one major drawback: it required that a Guardian of the same magnitude as the renegade would lend his force to the seal, thus rendering himself mortal. Before his fall, the renegade had been one of their mightiest: where could they find another like him?

"The answer had been obvious, to anyone but the Council; and the young Guardian who prevented defeat challenged the renegade to a duel, and cast forth his life to entomb the renegade. And both of them became myths among legends: the traitor, forever encased in his tomb of stone, and the saviour, forever living and dying, reincarnating with no knowledge of who he truly was. Lending his power to the seal made him mortal, yes, yet he may not truly die, because his fate is still tied with that of a life-bearing planet."

Melissa sighed. "It's an old tale, what I told you now, but a true one – as some of you, I believe, already know. But now let me tell you another story, just as sadly real, which, I believe, some of you have not heard.

"There was a planet, and it was populated. In fact, it was populated to a dangerous density, and the leaders of the planet would not listen to warnings, and continued to ill-treat the resources that gave them life. Eventually disaster stroke: and epidemic, fast-spreading and bringing slow, horrendous death to those who contracted it. The cause of the epidemic was traced to a virus, and the best scientific minds of that age sought a cure. One of them found it: it could not be cultured in a lab, but was made from the serum of a new species his team had created, a species made from the crossing of several species.

"The planet is this planet, once known as Earth and now called Enterra. The people whose leaders would not listen to advice were the humans of Earth, and the nascent people are the Enterrans. But most of you already knew that, and the rest of you figured it out.

"And then the meteor landed – if a meteor it was, because telescopes could not track it and bombs could not hurt it. It crashed into the planet, in a desert area, and brought up a cloud of dust that covered the atmosphere and caused a drastic change in the climate. The humans, already weakened, were hurt by this far more than the more robust Enterrans; and the Enterrans, under the leaders of a young general, overthrew the humans. But what may have been a just struggle for a just cause quickly became a massacre, genocide, as the Enterrans sought to destroy the species that both gave them life, and dominated them.

"The general of the Enterrans was the one known as Mushrambo, but you already knew that.

"The war raged for five years. Only one group of humans could stand up to the Enterrans, a small group previously held back by a leadership that was now gone. Under their protection, small groups of Terran humans were smuggled away from the planet then called Enterra. But eventually, they saved all whom they could, but they themselves could not yet escape. They had to wait two more weeks for the ship to come and rescue them."

Tommy stirred. "It didn't happen", he said. "It would've happened, if…"

"If Rusphine hadn't sent these three back in time", agreed Melissa. "But it had happened, in a different timeline: the one from which they came. And because I am what I am, I remember. At first the memories were fuzzy, incoherent, but in the last few days I finally managed to put them together. And now I will tell what had happened, in a past that never would come to pass.

"The leader of the resistance died in battle, allowing the last group to escape. Struck by his death, the remaining warriors retreated to their first and best hideout, which they have abandoned years ago for fear of the enemy discovering it. Now that they had nothing to lose but their lives, they returned to their first base, near the town were many of them grew up. Or rather, almost all of them returned. Four were off-planet: a woman who was the dying species ambassador, the man she married and his best friends. They were the ones who piloted the ships. And another man, who longed to fight but stayed away from his home in a last-ditch attempt to save the woman he loved more than life, more than anything. And she was the fifth who did not return to the sanctuary: believing her daughter dead by the hands of the enemy, she had worked alone all throughout the war, and remained the only one to land considerable blows to the Enterrans.

"But with her true family, her fellow warriors, under siege, she rose to their defence. She fought Mushrambo outside the base in the mountains, fighting out of anger and grief. Both she and Mushrambo suffered heavy blows, but she had already been weakened by years of living nightmares. She fell to her death, and her fellow warriors were murdered by Enterrans invading the place that should have been their sanctuary. They fell three days before the ship came.

Melissa paused, looked away. "I didn't realize what was really happening until he killed Shiera", she said quietly. "But I should've known before. I should've. Even then, it had taken me three days to come here. During those three days, Mushrambo had tracked down Dr. Tatsuro and murdered him, and I do not know why he did not murder the sleeping child he came for: but he did temper with the controls of her sleeping pod, lengthening the duration of her induced sleep, and he took from her enough power to heal the would-be deadly wound Shiera had managed to inflict on him."

"I could not kill her", said Mushrambo quietly. "I remember very little of that time, but this I do recall, even if I cannot yet remember why it was so."

Melissa's lips twisted in a wry smile. "But I do. The Guardians told me. They caught up with me then, on my way to Enterra, and they told me the true story of what happened here. But all in due time.

"I knew I could not kill Mushrambo. I could not, however, allow him to roam free. The knowledge the speaker of the Guardians had given me allowed me to hold him down, and then chain him in the only way possible: by breaking the gem which gave him strength, his identity had been broken as well."

"The dreams", whispered Kutall. "Mushra dreamed of that. He mentioned it, once."

"Flashbacks", added Emma quietly. "I should've realized, when he spaced out of us in the hover."

" 'He' is standing right _there_", said Shiera, pointing directly at the golden Mushrambo. He tall samurai only inclined his head in acknowledgement. "I do not deny it", he said simply, "but I have been changed."

"Purified", said Melissa quietly. "I knew then that he was never meant to be dark. The two gems were meant to be together, but another power had interfered. By the power of the Light, I temporarily drove the darkness away, shielding the newborn Mushra from it. I also strengthened in him a drive that existed in Mushrambo as well, only twisted by darkness."

"To protect the bearer of the gem of Light", said the golden Mushrambo quietly.

"Yes", said Melissa simply. "But another thing had happened, that neither the Guardians nor I anticipated. The Guardians failed to predict this because they are not of our kind. And I was surprised by it, because there was one thing that the Guardians then held back from me. The breaking of the gem, the entrapment of Mushrambo in the identity of Mushra, caused a far deeper transformation then anyone had intended, and making him potentially far more powerful than he had been before. And perhaps it wouldn't have happened, if the one to do it had been anyone but I. But it was I who trapped Mushrambo, then, and I am a Phoenix – the Phoenix of Netherie. Once I have been the only Phoenix of this age, but no more."

Emma's hand rose to her mouth, and Sago heard her whispering a very soft "Oh". Then Melissa rose to her feet, gracefully facing Mushrambo, who had been standing all this time. "Do you know what you are now, Mushrambo?"

"I do", he answered. He voice was quiet, but rang clearly in the oppressively silent room. "I am Mushrambo, samurai of Spirit; and I am the Phoenix of Enterra."


	44. The Phoenixes, part 2

_So the last update was five months ago, which makes this the second-longest pause in the history of this story. In those five months, i've had a family crisis, a mess at work, I tried to wrap up my undergrad degree - to be drafted to reserve service at a war and was released after five weeks with that B.Sc. still waiting to be finished. Still doing that, as a matter of fact._

_So yeah, my life had been interesting, and that resulted in a writing draught. Seeing as I have a pretty good idea of where the story's heading, though, I do hope to get the next update out relatively quickly. (Ten days to two weeks - tonight I leave for a long-due vacation of five days, and will not get a chance to write.)_

_As always: enjoy, and please review._

_--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---_

**12. The Phoenixes**

_Second Part_

---

"Do you know what you are now, Mushrambo?"

"I do", he answered. He voice was quiet, but rang clearly in the oppressively silent room. "I am Mushrambo, samurai of Spirit; and I am the Phoenix of Enterra."

For a moment, there was only stunned silence. Then, Karone said: "Oh, _no_."

"What do you mean, 'oh no'?" asked Zhane. "I'd say, three cheers and where's the beer?"

Karone glared at him from eyes that turned momentarily cobalt. "Think," she suggested acidly.

"We're not all geniuses, Karone," said Shiera. The weariness in her voice was evident. "Stop making everybody feel like idiots and speak out."

"You don't need to be geniuses. Why would Melissa bother with history that was ancient before the first Ejernors' time, if it wasn't relevant? Why would the Guardians, who hadn't interfered with anything in fifty thousand years, bother with the whole Mushrambo business? Why would a random rock from space carry two Guardian Gems?" Karone took a deep breath. "Because that meteor was no 'random rock' from space, that's why. Because that meteor is the prison of the single most dangerous being in history or myth."

"The Gems," said Emma, suddenly alert. "If the gems fell away from the meteor…" Her eyes widened. "The seal," she said. "It has to be breaking."

"Wait a minute," said Tommy. "If the seal on that meteorite is breaking, then…"

"Then Mushrambo was just the warm-up band," completed Andros. "No offense," he added.

"None taken," assured him the golden Mushrambo.

"Wrong," said Melissa.

"Just peachy," added Karone.

"Okay, hold it right there," said Tommy firmly. "I want that repeated, and slowly."

"No." It was Trini who put her foot down. "Look, I don't care how important any of this is. Right now, what most of us need is some decent _sleep_. If some of us are feeling that they're up to it, and that this is urgent enough, then stay up and talk, but the rest of us should sleep."

"If you can sleep with this on your mind," muttered someone.

"Trini's right," said Tommy. He raised his eyes to the others: "Jason? Andros?"

The other red Rangers nodded. "Sleep's good," said Andros. "Sorry, Karone. Talk to me tomorrow."

That seemed to be it: most of the Rangers dissipated from the room in seconds. Kutall, too, took the kittens and wondered off. Those who remained were the non-Rangers – human and Enterrans alike – as well as Shiera and Carlos. _And considering how Shiera looks at Mushrambo and how he looks at Yakumo_, thought Sago, _we're going to have a fight_.

Lucky for everyone, Sago was not the only one who noticed the tension.

"Don't even think about it," said Karone; her tone was too tired to be considered 'snapping', but wasn't far from that either. "You're going to sleep and that's a goddamn order, Shiera." Then she gave the green Rangers a scrutinizing look, and added: "But I'm going to hook you on an IV first." She pushed herself up from her chair. "Pick up Karen and let's go. Emma," she added, "Have a look at Yakumo, okay?"

"Sure," said Emma, in a tone that sounded too easy to Sago's ears.

Shiera picked up the infant; Karone snapped her fingers and she, Carlos, Shiera and the little Karen all disappeared in a flash of purple-blue light.

That left Melissa, Mushrambo, Yakumo, Emma and Sago.

Melissa locked eyes with Mushrambo, and he nodded; then he kneeled before Yakumo. "Would it be all right if I leave you for a while?" he asked. "A few hours, not more. The Lady and I have much to discuss."

"Sure," said Yakumo, but Sago could sense the tension and insecurity in her tone, in her posture. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I've got a lot to tell you," he said sincerely. "It's been two weeks for us, you know. How about I fill you in while Emma takes a look at you?" Funny that they didn't seem so similar to him, anymore; _or maybe_, he thought as Emma's eyes found his for a second, _not so weird_.

---

The examination only took moments – Yakumo was unhurt. The three of them passed through the kitchen to stock on snacks – by Emma's insistence – and then folded to Emma's apartment, where they sat on the carpet and Sago told Emma everything that he, Mushra and Kutall had been through in the two weeks that passed. When he reached his duel with Franken he halted, as the pain seemed too raw, but then Emma squeezed his hand and settled closer to him, practically leaning against him, and he found the strength to continue talking. Yakumo eyes the way he and Emma were nestled together, but her eyes held no objection; she seemed to understand, and Sago was relieved that he did not have to spell it out for her.

Yakumo listened carefully, attentively. Every now and then she interrupted him with a question – but all her questions were requests for clarification: she seemed to accept everything that he told her as the simple truth, without a doubt and without objection. This surprised him somewhat, as in many ways the story he told her put her world upside down. When he voiced this question, she nodded.

"The Guardians told me," she said. "At least, I think those were the Guardians. When I fell, I called out to Mushrambo to help me, but he didn't come. Finally, the power of the pendant opened up to me. I stopped falling, and the Guardians spoke to me. They showed me most of what Melissa told us. I didn't understand it, then, but now I do; most of it, at least."

"What parts don't you understand?" asked Emma – first words she's spoken.

Yakumo hesitated. "The future, I think," she said finally. "The things that I should do. I'm afraid… that I won't understand in time. That I'll fail them."

"You won't," said Sago. "You're too good to fail."

Her blue eyes were rimmed with tears. "You think?" she asked.

"I'm sure," he said sincerely, and reached with his other arm to pull her into a hug. "I missed you so much; _we_ missed you so much, you have no idea."

"But I'm here, now," she said. "We're together again. Even if…"

"Mushra", finished Sago, when he realized that she wasn't about to. "Yes." It tasted bitter in his mouth. No matter the explanation – that Mushrambo was supposedly Mushra's true self – it still felt as if Mushra had died. He didn't dare say it out loud though.

He didn't have to.

"He did die, you know," said Emma. "In a way. Don't be ashamed of grieving." She resettled, and wrapped both he and Yakumo in a hug.

Sago found that he was crying again.

---

Getting up from the beanbag without disturbing his niece or nephews was not easy. Naturally, Kat had noticed Kutall's hesitation and picked up one of the sleeping kittens, allowing Kutall to rise with the other two in his arms. Seeing that Sen was peacefull in Kat's arms, Kutall let her carry him as they made their way to the elevators.

"Cute kids," said Tommy.

"When they're asleep," answered Kutall.

"Like all kids their age," said Kat. "Yours?"

Kutall shook his head. "My sister's. She… passed away, a few years ago."

Kat nodded. "Tommy and I have one son," she said. "He's at Kerova, staying with the family of Zhane's younger sister."

"Zhane's sister have half the team's kids," said Tommy, leaning tiredly against the elevator's side. "The rest of the kids are at Netherie."

"What's his name?" asked Kutall.

Tommy smiled a little. "Jason David," he said. "Named after his godfather, and his uncle. He'll be ten years old, in a few weeks." Then Tommy's face fell, and he added, more quietly: "I haven't seen him in two years."

"They grow so fast, at this age…" added Kat wistfully.

The elevator reached the habitat level. They walked in silence until they reached the door to the apartment Kutall shared with Sago and Mushra. He hesitated by the door, not quite wanting to go in. He knew that Sago would stay long with Emma, and he had a feeling that Mushrambo will not return there to sleep. Kutall wasn't ready to fall asleep just yet, and the thought of the quiet rooms made him feel uneasy.

"Come on over to us for a while," suggested Tommy.

"Yeah," said Kat. "There's a spare room. I'll pile up lots of pillows and blankets for the little ones on the bed."

Kutall hesitated, but finally agreed.

"I'll go get us all coffee," said Tommy. "See you there in a few."

---

Eventually, Yakumo fell asleep on one of the couches. Emma and Sago settled on the other couch and talked in low voices but eventually they, too, fell asleep. Still, Sago woke up every once in a while. Each time he found the scene unchanged and immediately fell asleep again. Once, though, he was woken up by the hiss of the opening door: a dark-skinned female Ranger, whose name he didn't remember, came in. She smiled apologetically when she noticed his gaze. "I came to check on you lot," she explained in a low voice. "You lot seemed more run down then the rest of us easier. Sorry for waking you up."

He had Emma lying against him, and so he didn't shrug. "I've been dosing on and off anyway."

"It's almost morning," she said. "The sun will rise in about half an hour."

"Do you usually check on other people like that?" he asked.

"When they seem so tired, yeah," she said. "People around here have the tendency of falling up with coffee mugs in their hands, or just on a random patch of carpet without a blanket. So yeah, most of us have the tendency of checking up on one another. We're a protective lot."

"I noticed," he said wryly.

That amused her, for some reason. "We're also your extended family, now," she told him seriously. "Better get used to it."

Sago thought back to the life he's had – a bar-drifter and a petty con, before Mushra drafted him on Yakumo's quest; then it had been just the four of them against a world that wanted their demise; and the utter uncertainty of the past two weeks. For a moment, he caught a glimpse of the possible future this woman hinted at – a world without war, with his friends, with Emma – for the first time since his childhood, with family.

His breath caught.

The woman nodded once. "Sleep if you can," she said. "It'll soon be morning."


	45. The Phoenixes, last part

_Surprise, y'all. _

_This update is in celebration of the Jewish New Year's, and this story's fourth birthday, both of which will take place tomorrow, Sept.22._

_A sweet, prosperous and happy new year to all of you!

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_

**12. The Phoenixes**

_Last Part_

---

When Sago awoke again, he was alone on the couch. For a moment he felt disoriented. Recalling his whereabouts brought with it a stab of panic: _where's Emma?_ Then he heard the sounds of a whispered conversation from the other room. He got up and followed his ears.

Emma was with her back to him at the comm. screen, speaking quietly with Melissa. The redhead woman smiled when she noticed Sago's approach, and Emma turned around; she, too, smiled at him, but waited until he was practically at her shoulder before addressing him.

"Morning," she said quietly.

"Morning," he acknowledged.

"Representatives from most of the main Enterran sects accepted our Mushrambo as their new leader," she said.

"Without objections?" he asked, surprised.

"There were those who objected," said Melissa. "Now there are none."

"The rest of them recognized him by his powers," added Emma. "Either they don't care much for the difference between one Mushrambo and the other, or they figured he's too powerful to be overthrown."

Sago nodded.

"Most of the original Seven are dead, now," continued Emma. "Most of the Enterrans sects have new leaders. The only two exceptions are the Beast Enterrans, who placed themselves under Mushrambo's direct leadership years ago, and the Water Enterrans, as Franken is still alive."

"And will probably stay alive," said Melissa. "Originally, Mushrambo planned on challenging Franken to a duel, but from Shiera's report it would seem that he is likely to receive well the change of leadership."

"Apparently Shiera and he had a little chat," explained Emma. "Shiera says he only followed the previous Mushrambo's lead so as to avoid facing off against the rest of the Enterran people. She doesn't think he'll object to the new peace policy."

"Did anyone bother to ask for Franken's opinion?" asked Sago.

"That's what we are about to do," said Melissa. "A delegation will meet Franken at the beach. As a matter of fact, we were just waiting for you to wake up."

"Me?"

"I thought you'd like to come," said Emma hesitantly. "Shiera's usually right. I thought, if we're going to really make peace with Franken and his people, you'd like to be there when it happens."

Rendered speechless, it took Sago a moment to realize that the two women were waiting for his answer.

"Okay," he said.

---

The Beach Party - as Tommy sardonically referred to it - assembled at Ops. It was a small party: Tommy, Shiera, Melissa and Sago. Mushrambo and the other Enterrans leaders, Sago was told, would meet them at the plains, and from there they would teleport to the beach.

Sago turned to Emma. "You're not coming?"

"It's a formal delegation," she pointed out.

"Don't be an idiot," snapped Shiera. She seemed less tired then she was the previous night; morphed, with her helmet hanging at her belt, there was an air of danger about her.

Emma stepped closer to the rest of the party.

Melissa nodded once, and suddenly they were at the plains. The golden Mushrambo, with four other Enterrans standing behind him, was waiting for them. Two of them Sago recognized – Gyasa, most likely there as Ryuma's heir, and Caris, who was Rusephine's favourite captain. The others were unknown to him, though he could guess which people they represented: the muscular man in tan armor had to be Daku's heir in humanoid guise, and the feminine figure with a shawl of shadow wrapped about her – whose mere presence sent shivers up Sago's spine – had to be DieHanger's heir.

Melissa stepped forward. "We are ready," she said.

Mushrambo nodded. "Gentleman, and Lady, I would like you to greet Thomas Oliver, leader of the humans; Defender Force; and the _Yuria_ Melissa of Netherie, who is here as mediator."

It was a good thing, Sago reflected, that Melissa did not participate in the battle, and that her appearance was too exotic to pass for an ordinary human; it lent some credibility to Mushrambo's description of her.

"Sir and Lady," continued Mushrambo, "please meet the leaders of the Enterran people: Gyasa of the Reptilians, Daisuke of the Insect People, Sora of the Ghosts and Caris of the Bird People."

Melissa and Tommy nodded politely; the Enterran leaders, Sago noted, did not do so.

"If you are all willing," said Melissa, "We will now visit Franken of the Waters."

To this, there was reaction among the Enterrans. Melissa seemed to take their stirring as a positive answer, for in the next moment they were facing the ocean, and the rays of the sun were at Sago's back.

Emma put her hand on his arm, steadying him.

The Enterrans turned towards the waters. Mushrambo walked forward, until the waves of the ocean practically licked his boots.

Everyone waited.

At first, Sago thought that his senses were deceiving him: no one else seemed to see or hear anything. Still, he reached forward with his mind – and met a surprised recognition. Unprepared, Sago drew back and disengaged. Within a moment, though, a patch of water at some distance from Mushrambo foamed and stirred, as if that area – and it alone – was boiling. Then, the water shot upwards like a might geyser. When the eruption subsided, Franken stood on the face of the ocean. Slowly he walked forward, until he was only at a few feet's distance, the slight elevation provided by the waters putting him at eye level with the taller Mushrambo.

For a moment neither man moved or spoke. Then Mushrambo made a small, courteous bow, and said: "King Franken."

Franken regarded him for a moment more, and then bowed deeply. "High Kind Mushrambo," he said, "My liege."

Tommy's sigh of relief was quite audible.

_This is it_, Sago realized: the younger, less experienced leaders of the various peoples would not stand up to Mushrambo on their own. Franken, though, was more powerful then they – politically, certainly, and possibly also in battle. If he would've rejected the new Mushrambo, the other Enterran leaders may have lined up behind him. Franken, however, peace.

Mushrambo and Franken continued to talk while Sago was lost in thought. Then, Franken raised his eyes and looked beyond Mushrambo, behind the other Enterrans leaders: his eyes found Sago's.

"My offer remains, Sago," he said. "The Kingdom of the Deep is still without heir. That place is yours, should you accept."

At this, there were many murmurs from the Enterran leaders; Sago, though, did not notice. His eyes were locked with Franken, and he tried to gauge the elder king. For a moment the memory of his first encounter with Franken returned to him: the fear he felt as he lay on the water, dazed by pain, torn between his love for his friends and the pull of his element. Then a different memory came - of fighting against the pain, against the barrier Shiera had placed in his mind, and of the voice that sheltered him from the pain long enough for him to allow him to go hyper: Franken's voice.

Sago lowered his gaze. Emma's hand was still lying lightly on arm, offering silent support. Sago raised his eyes.

Franken was still looking at him.

Sago interlaced his fingers with Emma's, and then raised their joined hands for all to see. He heard Emma's breath catches. "Would you accept us both?" he asked. "Together?"

Franken's eyes bored into his. Seconds passed, and the king said nothing.

"You may want to consider," said Shiera, "that she is my sister."

Franken's gaze snapped to her, and his eyes widened as he recognized her. Then he smiled. "I would be a fool, to reject a union between our two people," he said. "And double the fool I would be to refuse the joining of my house with yours." He turned to Sago and Emma. "Come here, my children."

Hand in hand, Sago and Emma stepped to the water. When they were directly in front of him, Franken turned to Emma and asked: "What is your name?"

"Emma Carlson," she answered.

Franken placed his right palm over Sago's head and his left, over Emma's. "Let it be known," he said loudly, "That the King of the Deep is no longer childless, and his kingdom no more without heir. Let it be said and sung that Sago is now Prince of the Water People, and that he had chosen Emma of the Human People, so that our line may continue and thrive!"

Franken threw his arms up in the air, and the waters raged forward and rose at their feet, momentarily blocking the three from everyone else's view – and everyone else from their sight, as well. Gracefully, Franken lowered his right arm. Four drops of water fell from the shining screen. Three solidified as they fell, and embedded themselves into Sago's helmet. The fourth spun fast and then fell into Sago's open palm, a perfect silver band with a single, ocean-coloured stone.

"Go on," encouraged Franken as Sago but stared at the ring. "Give it to her."

Sago turned to Emma. "Would you?" he asked.

"Too late to ask now, don't you think?" she asked, and then laughed. "Of course," she said. "Yes."

Sago put the ring on her finger, and then Franken lowered his other arms and the screen of water fell. Sago and Emma turned to face the two parties; the morning sun shone back from Franken's gifts.

Melissa was the first to clap; then Mushrambo and Shiera joined her, and everyone else followed their lead. When the noise subsided, Melissa smiled.

"Good," she said simply. "If we can declare the Human-Enterran conflict ended, then, I would like to direct everyone's attention to the true war lying at our doorstep."


	46. Shinzo, part 1

_I bet y'all thought this'll be an eternal WIP. I'm pretty sure that this was the largest update gap in the history of this story. But, as I promised, this story will be completed, even if updates delay. This story had seen me through military service, undergrad degree (B.Sc.) and now grad school. I'm not going to ditch it - particularly not with the end within sight!_

_"Shinzo" is the final chapter. It'll probably take 3-4 updates, like a usual chapter... and this is it._**

* * *

13. Shinzo**

_Part One

* * *

_

They gathered in the plains, in full view of the Enterran army. They stood in a loose circle, and in the air between them Melissa wove an illusion to illustrate her words.

"Five years ago, a meteor landed on this planet, and from it fell two gems: one was found by Enterran, and the other by a human infant. In a timeline that did not happen, the Enterran – Mushrambo – lead his people to the destruction of all humans, save for one: the one with the Gem of Life. She was hidden from him by the power of her gem – and his.

"In that timeline that didn't happen, I did not realize what was happening until after he killed Shiera, the Green Strike Ranger. Then I came to Earth. I could not kill him, for he still had a role to play, and I could not let him get away. I did the only thing I could."

"I remember," said Mushrambo quietly. All heads turned to him. "I – Mushra had been dreaming about this, ever since he woke in this time, two weeks ago. He dreamt of who he used to be – of me – fighting a red-haired woman whom neither of us knew. He dreamt of that woman shattering the gem – shattering me."

Melissa nodded. "I had."

"But why didn't Sago and I remember?" asked Kutall.

"Because of what he had become," said Melissa simply, and sighed. "I didn't realize – I didn't know. One has to die twice to become a Phoenix, you see."

"You may want to rewind that," said Gyasa dryly.

"My apologies," said Melissa. After a short pause, she continued. "In that timeline that will not come to pass, a long time passed – I'm not sure how long."

"Five hundred years," supplied Sago.

Melissa nodded. "Five hundred years passed before Yakumo here woke up."

Shiera shifted at the name 'Yakumo', but said nothing.

"This is the part of the story I'm not sure about."

All eyes turned to Yakumo.

She shuffled her feet and looked down, embarrassed. Her cheeks turned red. Finally, though, she raised her eyes and spoke. "My father – the man I remember as my father, doctor Tatsuro – he told me to go west, to find a city called Shinzo. He had said that that's where the last hope lay. So when I woke up, I headed west, with Hakuba as my vehicle. Will he be all right?" she asked suddenly. "He is also my friend."

"The guys are already working on him," said Karone. "They'll fix him up, eventually."

"Thanks."

"I remember Kazuki designing him," said Emma. "He was so proud…"

"Kazuki Tatsuro was one of the greatest enemies of our people," said Caris curtly.

"He was a friend and a good man," shot Shiera. "He never meant for what had happened."

"He had created a sentient species like one creates _toys,_" sneered Sora, her veil of shadows turning momentarily crimson.

The bolt of lightning fell out of clear sky, right in the middle of their circle.

"Enough," said Karone sharply. "We don't have much time. I don't care about the details of a future that will never happen – at least not right now. The important thing is that Yakumo, bearer of the Gem of Light, ran into the three people carrying the shards of the Gem of Spirit – one of whom was, in fact, Mushrambo, bound by Melissa's spell."

"That's a simplistic way of putting it," protested Melissa mildly.

Karone sighed dramatically. "Hello, we have the single most legendary Evil about to break free out of his prison, and that's what you're worried about?"

Tommy's eyebrows shot up, and he wasn't the only one.

"What is the meaning of this?" demanded Daisuke.

"The meteor that started all this is the prison of Lanancuras, an ancient Evil," said Melissa. "The two gems that fell from it are the two main pieces of the lock. Without them, the prison is crumbling. It would've taken longer to fully open, but with all the temporal activity lately – it will open soon. Very soon."

"He is but one," argued Caris.

"Don't be a fool," snapped Franken. So is he." And he pointed at Mushrambo.

"He will not be alone," said Melissa. "His followers – the Kadrian people – are already on their way. They are a force to be reckoned with."

"And they're going to run into half the Grey Guard fleet," said Karone dryly. "Taken care of."

Melissa shook her head. "The Grey Guard are no match for Lunaria," she said. "She and Eilis are the leaders of the Kadrians, while Lanancuras is missing. Eilis is not much different than some threats the Grey Guards were designed against, but Lunaria is a witch – and talented at that."

"So she's going to run into a sorceress who's talented at that," shot Karone back. "And I'll keep Andros out of your hair, too. You're going to want anyone who's not Earthborn away from the main battle, huh?"

"You know me too well."

"Give us one good reason to trust you," demanded Gyasa.

"Because I tell you to," said Mushrambo flatly. "I would rather not go to the bother of finding you an hair so shortly after Ryuma's death, but so will I have to do, should you disobey."

"We're not supposed to be fighting each other, here!" said Tommy sharply.

"Do I need to call down another lightning or can we get to work?" demanded Karone.

"There's not much to do," said Melissa. "Those who had been touched by the Gems should go and wait for Lanancuras to awaken, which will happen shortly. All others should fight the Kadrians."

"And fighting the Kadrians does not require planning, of course."

"It doesn't really matter. It's the battle with Lanancuras which will decide all our fates."

"Let's split this party," suggested Sago. "We have two different battles to plan out."

"He is right," said Mushrambo. He turned to Melissa. "How long do we have?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "Between nightfall and sunrise next morning."

"And it is already afternoon." Franken shook his head. "Kadrian-fighting party, this way." He pointed towards the Enterran camp. "Lanancuras-defeating party, that way." And he pointed towards the mountain, and the human base. "And please, nobody argue. It will be a shame to kill each other, rather than our enemies."

---

"I am not staying behind," said Shiera flatly. "Absolutely not."

"Shiera…"

"My daughters are going to be there, Melissa!"

"Which is exactly why you should stay behind," said Melissa for the fourth or ninth time – Sago had lost count. The two had been arguing for ten minutes, and nobody dared interfere.

"Karen is five years old and I'll be damned if Yakumo can tell a hilt from a blade!" Shiera was quite obviously furious. "I am not letting either one of them fight the single most dangerous being in all of history!"

"They're not going to fight."

"So they shouldn't be on a battlefield!"

"Not on any battlefield – but on this one, they do." Melissa sighed. "Please, Shiera. Did I ever…"

"Did you ever what?" asked Shiera, when Melissa didn't seem prone to completing that sentence.

"I was going to ask if I had ever disappointed you," said Melissa quietly. "But I have."

"Not that I remember."

"You died."

Shiera's breath came out in a hiss. "Not that, Melissa. Please. I was doing my job."

"It wouldn't have happened if I had been alert as I should've been."

"Please," said Yakumo in the sudden quiet. "Please don't fight." She turned to Shiera. "Please understand," she said. "This is what I must do. This is what the Celestial Guardians chose me for." She extended her hand. "Let me do what I must, without guilt."

Shiera looked away. "There are too many chosen people in this family," she mumbled.

Melissa, though, was frowning. "The Guardians spoke to you, then?"

"Yes," said Yakumo. "Today. When…" she paused, then wrapped her arms about her body. "When I fell."

Kutall, who was closest to her, put his arm around her shoulders. Yakumo leaned against him.

Melissa nodded resolutely. "It is decided, then. There is no need for Karen to come, too. There is no need for two Gems of Light for the one Gem of Spirit. If the Guardians had made their preference known, then there is no need for both to be there."

"She is fifteen, Melissa," said Shiera. Her voice was strangled. "She is younger than I were, younger than you were. Does she have to go?"

"Yes," said Melissa gently. "I'm sorry."

Sago gave Emma a questioning look. What was Shiera talking about?

"I'll tell you the full story," she said quietly, "Another time." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and then walked to her sister and wrapped her in a hug, muffling Shiera's protest. "Take Karen and Carlos and go," she said. "Go somewhere safe, away from here."

"I'm not going away – "

"Yes, you are. You are not omnipotent. We're going up against someone who's tougher than Dark Specter, tougher than Mushrambo, here. Let the prophecy run its course." She withdrew a little, looked her sister in the eye. "Listen to the people who love you, for a change."

For a moment, the two sisters stood like that, eyes looked. Then Shiera nodded abruptly.

"I don't suppose you'll be coming to," she said.

Emma shook her head. "I have work here."

"Stay alive, or I'll dig you from the grave and kill you myself."

"Understood."

Shiera pulled her close for another hug, pressing her tightly. When she released her, she turned towards Yakumo. "I hardly know you," she said, "And I am probably not the mother you had imagined. For what it's worth, I wish things could've been different. As things have turned out…" she touched Yakima's cheek, very gently. "Do what you must. Make it good."

"I promise," whispered Yakumo. She reached forward and hugged Shiera briefly. "This doesn't have to be a final goodbye. I hope to get to know you better, when this war is over."

Shiera's lips twisted, but it wasn't quite a smile. "Let us hope."

Silence lingered for a few moments. Shiera had left grief in her wake, and it lay about them heavily.

All comm. buttons beeped. Then they beeped again.

Kutall answered his. "Kutall here."

"Come to the launch bay," said Justin's voice. "All of you. You should see this."

---

Justin was alone in the launch bay when they arrived there. The pods and the hovers were there, lined across the sides of the room and there, in the middle, stood Justin next to a huge blade lying on the ground.

"So Adam and I were working on Hakuba," said Justin with false lightness, "When suddenly he said, 'I am meant for the Guardian' and turned into _this._" He toed the blade's hilt. "Anyone care to tell me what's going on?"

"The Reversian Blade," breathed Melissa. "I had wondered…" Then she shook herself. "This was made by the Celestial Guardians of Shinzo," she said. "Apparently the had switched the original Hakuba, replacing him with a pod of their own making – which, all along, had truly been a weapon." She turned to Mushrambo. "This is for you, to defeat Lanancuras with."

Slowly, Mushrambo walked towards the blade and picked it up, his hand easily closing around the weapon's hilt.

The blade shone.

Mushrambo tested the edge against his finger. No blood was drawn.

"It won't hurt its wielder," he noted. "Useful." He tucked the blade into his belt. "Anything else we've been waiting for?"

"No," said Melissa.

Mushrambo nodded. "Night will fall in a few hours," he said, "Perhaps it is time for us to move."

"We are going into battle," said Melissa, very quietly. "Does anyone have any last goodbyes to make?"

"I have," said Kutall. "Kat had assured me that should none of us return from the battle – "

"You're all family, now," said Emma. "Your nephews and niece will be loves and taken care of, no matter what. And I already made all the goodbyes I should've, so I'd say we're good to go."

Sago turned with a start. Up until that moment, he hadn't realized that Emma would actually come with them: he thought that she would stay behind, at the base, to take care of the wounded. "You can't come," he blurted.

"I am," she said. "The Gray Guard are a robotic force. They have no need for a healer. Some of their units are quite capable as ordinary doctors – they will take care of the others."

"But you don't need to be there," he said. "You have never carried a gem."

"I know their use," she said. "I know the ancient lore." She put a finger against his lips. "Don't argue," she said. "It's awful to stay behind."

He kissed her finger. Then, taking her hand in both of his, he put it away. "I can't change your mind, can I."

She shook her head.

He bowed his. "All the more reason for both of us to survive." He always wanted to come out on top, when entering a battle, but never had he felt this desperate to live – and never he had faced such overwhelming odds.

"Well, then," said Melissa, and that was the only warning they got before the bay disappeared from around them, washed by yellow light. When Sago could see again, they were standing on top of a cliff in a desert area. They seemed to be in roughly the same time zone as before, but the topography was quite different – no ink strip of ocean on the horizon, no camp in sight. In the valley below them, a giant rock lay – the meteor. It was not a valley, Sago realized with a start, but a crater; and the meteor's surface was cracked. It almost seemed that the rock face was suffering.

"Is this it?" asked Kutall.

"It is."

"Now what?"

"We wait," said Melissa. "The Guardians wouldn't have sent the Reversian Blade if the time was not very near."

"It is near," agreed Yakumo. "I can sense it." She tipped her head up into the breeze. "There is evil on the wind, tonight."

"Small surprise," muttered Sago. "So, when Lanancuras breaks free…"

"I will fight him," said Mushrambo.

"Not alone, you won't," said Melissa.

"The Guardians have chosen…"

"You will land the final blow, yes," agreed Melissa, "But… but it will be better for two to fight." She smiled sadly. "The advantage of being a Phoenix: one gets to bend the rules."

"Which rules?" asked Sago.

"All of them," said Melissa.

"There is something that I should do, too," said Yakumo quietly, "But I am not sure what it is."

"You'll know when the time comes," said Melissa.

"The Guardians have shown me, but I'm not sure that I understood."

"You'll know when the time comes," repeated Emma, "And the three of us are going to be here with you. We'll help you figure it out. Nobody fights alone, today."

In the crater below them, the giant rock shuddered.

"Almost," whispered Mushrambo.

In the sky above them, lights exploded everywhere.

"It has begun," said Melissa. "The Kadrians are here."

"How can they be here so fast?" wondered Kutall.

"They probably began moving two weeks ago, when you arrived here. The moved in stealth and under cloak."

"Karone's gonna brag about this one for years, won't she," said Emma.

Melissa chuckled. "I doubt. She would've rather be here. Andros, though, and Zhane…"

Emma laughed lightly, too. "We'll never hear the end of it."

"We will. After five years or so."

The meteor shuddered again, more violently. The cracks on its surface deepened, becoming not so superficial.

"Almost time," whispered Yakumo.

"Almost sunset," said Emma. "It'll probably happen once the sun goes down. So cliché."

"Some clichés have their roots in reality."

"Assuming one's reality is a myth."

"Yeah, well." Melissa shrugged. "We can't all be ordinary people."

Everyone muffled a laugh at that, and Sago was pretty certain that Melissa's expression of innocence was feigned.

"What?" she asked innocently.

For a while, they stood in silence, watching the light show of the battle above and monitoring the period shudders of the meteor and the widening of the cracks.

"There," said Kutall suddenly. He raised his arm and pointed towards the horizon: the sun was almost completely down.

"Time for us to go," said Mushrambo. "We should be down there, when it happens."

Melissa nodded. "You three stay here. If we're lucky, he won't notice you."

"Is this part of the plan?" asked Sago.

"Naturally."

Mushrambo put his hand on Yakumo's shoulder. "I will try to come back to you," he said. "But if not, fare well."

"Don't say that," she said. She threw her arms around his neck. "Promise you will return."

"I cannot promise what I do not know," he said.

She drew back. "I will pray for you."

He smiled tightly. "That is all I need to know."

Melissa nodded at Mushrambo. He nodded back. Both of them rose in the air and soared away, towards the crater, the air around them glowing with golden light.

In the sky, lights shone, too bright to be natural. The ground shook with explosions from far away. The sun disappeared under the horizon. The meteor began shaking and shuddering and this time, it did not stop. It will continue, Sago knew, until it broke apart and Lanancuras was free again.

"Here we go," he said.


	47. Shinzo, part 2

_Hi y'all. Yet another impossible gap, I know. Grad school is interesting, is all I have to say. This is the one before last update, I think._

* * *

**13. The Phoenixes**

_Second Part_

If he thought that they wouldn't need to fight, he was wrong. The figures rose out of the ground, like deformed men and Enterrans made of rock and mud. Sago, Kutall and Emma formed a protective circle around Yakumo.

"What…?"

"Golems," said Emma. "Dumb but durable."

"So much for Lanancuras not noticing us," said Kutall.

"I'm not sure he has," said Emma. "Look. They're popping up all over the place, and they're not targeting us."

She was right: as far as their eyes could see, golems rose out of the earth and sank back into it.

"Testing his strength?" suggested Sago.

"Probably. We stay put and don't manifest any power, and we'll be left alone."

She was right. After a few moments, the entire army of golems sank back into the ground, vanishing in one second.

"He doesn't even count us as a threat," said Kutall.

"That's because we're not," said Emma. "Anything that freaks Melissa is bad. That woman took on a ten-thousand-years old, galactic scale demon when she was sixteen. She and Karone wiped the whole of the M-51 galaxy clean of evil only three years after that. She's barely left her home planet since. For her to come here, and stand at a front of a battle again…" Emma shook her head. "I've heard the myth of Lanancuras before," she said quietly. "He's said to be the father and root of any and all evil in existence. He is called Befouler because it is said that there is nothing good he cannot corrupt. He is said to have destroyed whole solar systems as casually as you or I would crush a piece of soil in our hands."

"Yet, we have to win," said Yakumo. "The Guardians – the Universe – they are counting on us."

"That's what prophecies are for," agreed Emma. "There's only one thing I don't understand, though."

In the crater beneath them, fire erupted.

---

The meteor exploded, boulders and dust flying everywhere. Up rose a single figure, gargantuan in its dimensions: with its feet planted where the meteor stood, its head reached over the top of the crater.

"I am Lanancuras," announced the figure, and its voice shook the ground. "Defer to me or be destroyed, for I have come to claim this planet, and none shall stand before me."

Mushrambo shot up, rising above the dust so that he hovered at the height of Lanancuras's face. "I am Mushrambo," he said, "And I shall conquer you."

"Who are you," drawled Lanancuras, "To dare rise up to one of the Guardians?"

"You have befouled your status and betrayed everything that the name of the Guardians stand for," said Mushrambo calmly. "That protection had been withdrawn from you."

"Who are you, puny human, to stand against me?"

"I am not human, but Enterran, and I stand with the blessing of your brothers and sisters the Guardians, whose legacy you have forsaken."

"Even they cannot take from me that which is mine," sneered Lanancuras, "And regardless of what you call yourself you are still a child of this planet, and as such, you are mine."

Slowly, with utmost respect, Mushrambo drew out the Reversion Blade and held it in front of him. The blade caught and reflected the starlight as well as the unnatural lights of the battle above. "Never shall I be yours."

"We shall see," said Lanancuras, and the battle had begun.

It was an uneven battle if ever there was one. Lanancuras has his size and sheer power for advantages, and Mushrambo's only chance was in his smaller size and his speed; still, for a few terrifying moments it seemed as though the storm of matter, wind and raw energy shall crush Mushrambo. Then, miraculously, a column of quiet had formed around him, rising from the ground up to such heights that no eyes could follow it. In this column, illuminated from the golden glow of her wings of flame, rose Melissa.

"You claim the name of a Guardian," she said, "And the benefits of such. You claim this planet, bestowed to you as a treasured keeping, as your private domain to be dominated and occupied. The rules of Shinzo were not meant for such a case, for the Father of the Guardians could not ever imagine that one of His Children will forsake his duty. Therefore, as you well know, no force forged in Shinzo may destroy you."

"Yet you, like your Enterran friend, rise again me."

"I am no force sent from Shinzo. I am no daughter and no accomplice to the Celestial Guardians. I am Melissa Oshra's daughter, Keeper of the one planet that had shaken itself free of the Guardians' protection."

"_Phoenix,_" breathed Lanancuras. Then he laughed, and the tremors of his laughter shook the walls of the crater. "And what will you do, Oshra's daughter? Even if I cannot kill you, you cannot hurt me."

"I don't need to," she said. "I only need to protect _him._" And she nodded her head in Mushrambo's direction. "Undo my Faith, if you can." And she flew up, above the level of the combatants.

Below her, the battle resumed, but it was different now. A bubble of peace remained around Mushrambo, and many of Lanancuras's attacks were deflected. Yet, as Lanancuras had said, Melissa's power could not hurt him – and it could not help Mushrambo in doing so.

The battle went on.

---

Hours. They have stood there for hours, perhaps for half the night: the stars in the sky above them had already changed their position. Sago, Kutall and Emma had sat down on the rocks long ago; Yakumo was still standing.

"Can you make out anything?" she asked Kutall.

He shook his head. "Too many lights, too much dusts. I can't see a thing."

"He's tiring," she said. "He may lose, out of sheer exhaustion…"

Bile rose in Sago's throat. "He can't."

"He can," said Yakumo sadly, "But I hope he won't."

"That makes three of us," said Kutall. Then, he gasped. "Look!"

At first they saw nothing – Lanancuras's attacks seem to have ceased, and it was hard to see in just the starlight. Then, slowly, the dust settled, and they could see Lanancuras, turning slowly on the point.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," he called, his voice mocking. "Are you hiding, Samurai? Are you afraid?"

"I can't believe he's pulled this," breathed Kutall.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sago.

"Don't you see him?" asked Kutall. "There – " He raised his arms, pointing.

Sago shook his head.

Yakumo's breath caught. "Oh, I understand now!"

Before Sago could ask again, though, it had happened. A speck of light he had mistaken for atmospheric debris descended down Lanancuras's back, leaving behind it a trail of scorching fire and agonized screams: Mushrambo had cut Lanancuras's spine open with the Reversion blade, and the Celestial Steel cut easily through the ancient, charmed body.

Lanancuras fell to his knees.

For a moment all was silent.

It first they thought it was weeping they were hearing, the crying of an ancient creature in the final moments of his life. Then, with horror, they realized that the sound was, in fact, laughter.

On his knees, back sliced open, Lanancuras was laughing.

"Nothing that came from Shinzo could ever hurt me," he said, "And my fellow Guardians knew that well. So they had forged a blade out of everything not found in Shinzo – laughter and exhilaration, pain and heartbreak, sunlight and the eternal darkness between stars. They had forged a blade to match up to me, and they had put it in the hands of a chosen warrior of a mutant species not quite like the one over which I had been put sovereign." He let out another bellow of laughter. "A blade to _match_ me, in the hands of one younger and not as strong as I! And they had dared hope that would destroy me – what a mistake!" And then, with a speed that should've been impossible for one as huge as he, he raised his arm and snatched Mushrambo out of the sky, crushing the small body in his palm. When he opened his fist, not even a body could be seen; the tiniest momentary flame indicated that Lanancuras had made Mushrambo's encard nothing but ashes. "Nothing shall hinder me now!"

---

They both jumped to their feet, holding back Yakumo. She struggled against their grip as if she could fly across the distance and join Mushrambo, help him somehow. Her cries pierced the night as well as Sago's and Kutall's hearts. Eventually, though, she stopped struggling and they let go of her. She sank to her knees, sobbing.

"No," she said. "No, no. I cannot be." She repeated it over and over, and there was nothing for her friends to do but stand beside her; they, too, were torn by grief and frozen with horror.

"He promised me," wept Yakumo. "_They_ promised me…" Her hand clutched against her pendant in an instinctive, useless gesture. "It doesn't end like this, it can't…"

Sago looked at Emma. "You're our Loremaster," he said quietly. "Ideas?"

"Melissa said he's a Phoenix," she said, "Which means he can't be truly dead, no matter what Lanancuras did. But we don't have the time for him to be born into a new body and for that body to grow…"

"Karen called back her parents," said Kutall. "Can Yakumo do a similar thing for him?"

Emma hesitated. "Whom would she call?" she said at last. "Phoenixes are not like the rest of us. 'Mushrambo' was his name for one particular lifetime. It takes a True Name to call back a Phoenix."

Sago kneeled next to Yakumo. "Did the Guardians tell you that?" he asked her. "Did they show you how to call him back?"

"They didn't even show me that battle!" she cried. "They only showed me Mushra, but I don't understand, they showed me two different battles…"

Emma stiffened. "Mushra? Emma – " She kneeled next to her and turned Yakumo's face to her. "Where did those battles take place, do you remember?"

"Only one of them – there were among the stars."

"Blessed Light," whispered Emma. "He's a Guardian."

"What?"

"Mushra – he's the other Guardian – the one from the myth – the one who defeated Lanancuras the first time around! He sacrificed his immortality to trap Lanancuras but the Father of the Guardians could not afford a Guardian to die, so he was destined to be forever reincarnated in mortal bodies."

"So Mushrambo was that Guardian, reincarnated?"

"Yes – and when the other timeline's Melissa stripped him of everything tainted by Lanancuras, only his original form was left."

"But Mushra was a kid – "

"A five hundred years old kid. Doesn't the myth say that it was a young Guardian who had stopped Lanancuras?"

"Yes," whispered Yakumo. "Yes, I think that this is what they meant." Slowly she rose to her feet, and they saw that the her pendant – which she still clutched tightly – was shining bright, glimmers of white and green slipping through her fingers. She spread her arms, and the gem's glow dimmed as her hand left it. "Arise," she called, "Arise, Phoenix of Enterra. Mushra…" she added, voice softer. "Come back to us." Her lips formed three more words, but those were not heard. "Arise!" she called again, and suddenly the gem's light shone as if a start had come to reside on her chest. "Phoenix of Enterra, Celestial Guardian of Old, I call thee!"

The earth shook.

Alerted by the Light, Lanancuras rose to his feet and turned to them, but Melissa dove in front of his face, a shining, brilliant distraction, her huge aura blinding Lanancuras from finding Yakumo. The distraction lasted only seconds, but it was enough. A ray of brilliant white light came down from the sky, met by an identical ray rising from the crater's bottom. Where the two rays met a whirlpool was formed, drawing to it dust and pebbles as sparks flew out into the night, as a mist formed around it. Then the whirlpool vanished.

Mushra stood in midair. His clothes were white and simple, and his forehead crowned with the familiar tiara. In his hand he held not a sword, but a spear, the white metal head shone with an internal light, reflected by the golden pole.

"Long time, no see," he told Lanancuras. His voice sounded as if he spoke very quietly, yet it carried clearly. "Missed me?"

It was the familiar, cocky tone, and Sago cried as the grief he had carried with him for the past days shattered. He was not the only one.

Mushra turned back his head, smiling. "Hey, guys! Hey, Yakumo!" he called. "Good to see you!"

"Good to see you to!"

"What were you thinking, worrying us like that?"

"Go get him!" called Yakumo, and her voice carried as well as his. "And make it forever, this time!"

"There'll be a price for that!" he called back. "Shinzo Law!"

"I know!" she called to him. "And I'm ready!"

Mushra nodded at her, waved again, and then turned and launched himself at Lanancuras.

The giant form melted, shrunk, leaving behind it a cloud of dust and darkness. Mushra's light continued straight into that darkness, and then everything exploded –

The two combatants were tossed against the crater's walls. Mushra's form was that which they had seen, but Lanancuras was different now. His was the form of a tall, handsome man, dressed in the same manner as Mushra and wielding a blade not unlike the Reversion Blade destroyed upon his former form. His hair, falling down his back in a cascade of purple and green, matched nicely with the cobalt-blue eyes that reflected the light.

"I didn't miss you at all," he spat. "You didn't kill me last time and you won't kill me this time, either."

"I wouldn't bet on it. I learned a couple of new tricks while all you had to do to pass your time was paint murals on the inside of your prison."

"Don't count on it. You were weakened by eons of living in mortal bodies, bereft of all knowledge of your true being, while I had all the time in the universe to build my strength."

Mushra's answer was an arc of gold and white, shot from the tip of his spear. Lanancuras cast it aside with the broad side of his sword, and launched back an arc of the darkest blue. It coagulated as a sphere at Mushra's spear, and the younger Guardian let it drop to the ground, where it exploded with a deafening sound.

It was a storm of light and sound after that, and those who stood watching could not follow: the two combatants were not visible as more than blurred spots of colour, and explosions sounded every other second. It was terrifying as much as it was beautiful.

"Lights above and Lights below," said Sago; in the sky about them, the space battle raged on, and debris still burned like comets as it fell down.

"Let it all be over soon," said Emma. "I've had enough wars to last me for a few lifetimes."

"Amen," said Kutall.

"Amen," whispered Yakumo.

As if it was a sign, the battle in the crater seemed to calm down. As the dust settled, they could see that Mushra and Lanancuras were each hovering in midair on different sides of the crater. Both were bloodied and bruised, their clothes torn and stained. Both still held their weapons in steady hands.

They charged at each other, and where they met there was a brilliant flash in all the colours of the rainbow. When the watchers could see again, Mushra and Lanancuras were standing on the bottom of the crater, close together as if holding each other. Then Mushra stepped back, and Lanancuras faltered. In the light of the space battle, they could see that a glimmering, round object was protruding out of Lanancuras's chest – Mushra's tiara, used as a weapon. Then the golden outlines faded, leaving a large purple crystal in their stead.

"Congratulations," said Lanancuras, voice hoarse; bloody foam appeared at his lips. He coughed. "You killed your planet."

"No," whispered Emma as Lanancuras fell, still coughing, as tremors shook the earth. "No, it can't be."

"What?"

"Each Guardian is connected to a life-bearing planet – the planet is protected by the Guardian's immortality. This planet is Lanancuras's charge. I thought if they were going to kill him, they would've found a way around it…" She stumbled as the tremors intensified. "Or this planet would tear itself apart once Lanancuras dies. We only have seconds. If they hadn't found a way, if we don't understand it in time…"

"They've found a way," said Yakumo, "I know what to do."

And before any of them could stop her, she stepped over the edge.


	48. Shinzo, last part

_A year minus three weeks. I admit that I was... distracted. But I promised that I would finish this, even if it would take time. It had - six years minus seven weeks - but eventually, I stuck to my word. I only hope it's worth it._

* * *

In space, a galaxy; in the galaxy, a planet; on the planet, a continent; on the continent, a desert; in the dessert, a crater; in the crater, a dying giant and two beings of light hovering over him; by the edge of the crater a bluff, and on the bluff two women and two men.

"Don't worry," said Yakumo. "I know what to do."

And she stepped over the edge.

Sago and Kutall both cried out and threw themselves out to stop her. Emma could not stop them. She didn't need to: a wall of Light kept them from falling.

All around them there were rays of light, white tinted with colours, like the columns of giants rising from the earth to the sky and descending from the sky to the air. From each of these rays there came a voice, in each of these rays there was the shadow of a figure: the Guardians have come.

On top of the bluff in the middle of a desert on a continent at a dying planet, Sago and Kutall pounded at the wall of Light.

The ground shook.

"Sago, stop!" shouted Emma over the noise. "Please!"

"I have to get to her!"

"You can't!" Another tremor made him lose his balance and she used that to drag him back. "We can't get to her. She's not ours, had never been."

Kutall turned, angry. "You barely even knew her!"

"She's not yours!" she replied, hotly. "Had never been. She's the Guardians'. She's the Bearer of the Gem of Light. Look around you!"

Another tremor, more violent than the former, knocked the three of them to the ground.

"What's happening?" asked Sago.

"The planet's dying," she said shortly. "Unless Yakumo can get the Guardians to stop it somehow."

"The Guardians…" said Kutall. The beams of Light finally registered through his fear for Yakumo. There were thousands of them present, now, casting a brilliance clearer than day. "These are the Guardians?"

"Yes."

"Wow," said Sago softly.

"Yes," agreed Emma. "We're treated to a sight no one had seen in tens of thousands of years."

"I could do without the honour," said Sago wryly.

The beams narrowed, the colours in them swiveled and coalesced into figures. Way down below, Lanacuras' body lay. Melissa had flown to Mushra's side, flaming wings of yellow behind her back like a bird of prey's. And there, next to Mushra –

"Yakumo," whispered Sago. Then he cried out: "Yakumo!" But she was too far away for his voice to reach.

The column of Light closest to Mushra and Yakumo was majestic purple, tinted silver. From it a voice spoke. Deep and resonating, it blasted back from the crater's walls.

"Mushra, my son. It is with sorrow that I welcome you back into our fold of the Eternal Guardians of Blessed Shinzo, for it is with the death of your brother and enemy that you have regained your life, and this life is the death of this very planet and all the life that it bears."

"Enterra shouldn't be destroyed," said Mushra hotly. "Not for _his_ sins."

"That is not for me to decide. Even that all of our Council have come here at this time we may not undo the Rules as they had been set since the beginning of time."

"We're the protectors of these people! _We,_ all of us, not just him. What kind of protectors are we if we fail everyone on Enterra because of one?"

The Father's voice remained grave and steady. "Even one grain of sand, if missing, can cause a grand rock to collapse."

"My Lord," spoke Yakumo from Mushra's side. "I would be your daughter, and protect this planet and all the life it bears, if you'll so please."

"Earth is dead, little one," said the Father of the Guardians gently.

"Knock off the formalities," said Melissa. "Last time around all you had was a semi-mortal Guardian and two gems. This time, you've got a full Guardian who's also a Phoenix and a double on one of the gems, and the sacrifice has already been made. So the rules change, and you can take her," she nodded at Yakumo, "at her offer without wrecking the timestream beyond repair. So what's more sacred, the rules or the duty?"

"Please," said Yakumo. In the wake of Melissa's defiance her voice sounded doubly pleading.

The Father of the Guardians sighed, the sound passing through the crater like a momentary gale. "Very well, then. Come here, you who would be a Guardian." And to Mushra, he added: "If you would join us now."

Light shot up from Mushra, upwards and downwards, forming a column of red and gold around him. Yakumo floated closer to the father's column, Mushra at her back.

The Light exploded.

* * *

When they could see again the lightshow was still going on, Yakumo hidden within it, and Melissa had joined them on top of the bluff. Where her light reached there were no tremors. "It's done," she said quietly. "Earth is no more."

"Can a name make such a difference?" asked Sago.

"You've known _him,_" said Melissa. The toss of her head meant Mushra. "Do you need to ask?"

Sago shook his head.

"Will it undo the damage?" asked Emma. "With every second – "

"I hope he'll come up with something," said Melissa. "And if not, I've healed a planet in the past. I'll do it again if needed. I daresay the local Guardian is Phoenix-friendly."

"Did she – " asked Kutall. "Did she die?"

"Yes," said Melissa, "And no. A Guardian may not have a corporeal body, but she did not so much as cross into the in-between between Life and Death."

"We lost them both," said Sago, so quietly that his voice was barely heard above the nonstop tremors. "But at least they're together. He's always loved her, I think. Look!"

Where Yakumo had to be, Light blossomed: brilliant pearly white, green and brown crisscrossing in it. Then the sphere narrowed, became brighter and formed into a vertical beam like the others.

The tremors ceased.

A Celestial Guardian had been born.

* * *

When the Guardians departed they did so suddenly, plunging the desert into sudden darkness. The night sky was dark, too: the battle there had stopped some time earlier, perhaps as easrly as Lanancuras' destruction, perhaps later. The desert was impossibly quiet, not even the sound of a rodent or a mosquito to disturb the silence, only the voice of their own breathing, ragged with adrenaline and hitched with emotion.

Only two Guardians remained behind, their auras minimized to glowing spheres not much larger than they: Mushra and Yakumo.

Hand in hand, they floated to where their friends were waiting.

"Hey, guys," said Mushra, attitude and smile same as ever.

"I'm sorry I scared you," said Yakumo. "There was so much that I didn't understand until it actually happened…"

Sago and Kutall were both too choked to speak. Kutall reached forward to hug them and they'd come a little closer, so that Sago too could reach without the risk of fall.

"I don't understand." Said Sago. Yakumo and Emma were translucent, but solid enough to the touch. "You're real."

"Of course we are," said Musrha.

Yakumo's smile was warm. "We can't maintain this for long," she said. "I'm sorry. And I'm going to need my strength." She turned, looking around. "So much damage," she said sadly. "So much destruction, and us Guardians are better at maintaining then rebuilding. This will take a long time."

"You're not alone," reminded her Melissa. "Us here are quite capable of landing a hand."

"Is the timestream really all right?" asked Emma suddenly. "Is there really no need to – "

"To what?" asked Sago.

"I was afraid you'll have to go back," said Emma in a very low, quiet voice. "To when you came from. Temporal stability is so delicate."

Sago reached for her hand, squeezing it tight. She stepped towards him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Lucky Rusphine had sent me also," said Yakumo. "Two Gems of Life, two Gems of Light – things balanced out."

"Karen gets to live and we get to stay because you…" Kutall's voice broke. "Because you gave your life for it."

Yakumo's life was radiant, even that her eyes brimmed with tears. "I'll miss you," she said. "I will. And I will miss grass beneath my feet and sun on my fact, but… I _am_ alive, Kutall. And I'll never leave you, any of you. Don't you understand? I'm the Guardian of this planet. I'll be in every rainfall and in every blooming flower."

"We'll still miss you," said Sago. "Both of you."

Mushra's regular cockiness faded a little at that. "It won't be the same," he agreed. "And I had a good time with you. I'm happy to have known you. But – I have work to do. Lots of it. But I promise to drop by, so watch out for me!"

And he was a Guardian, dressed in gleaming white and gold and with light showing through translucent imitation of skin, but he was still Mushra and Sago and Kutall couldn't help but laugh.

"This is goodbye, then," said Kutall.

"Goodbye," agreed Yakumo. "But not farewell."

"Goodbye!" called out Musrha as he and Yakumo spiraled upwards.

When they were high in the sky and only just still visible, Yakumo's figure began to fade.

"Wait!" called Mushra.

From down below, they could see her becoming visible again, and Mushra reaching for her face and bringing his closer.

Sago cheered. Emma and Melissa laughed. Kutall added his own encouragement.

There was no surge of Light, when Mushra's lips touched Yakumo's skin, but there was movement: like wind, like a single ray of sun, like the first breath of spring. Then Mushra and Yakumo were gone.

There was no dust in the air. There were no cracks and gaps in the rocks were the tremors passed. There was no debris below but trees and bushes, and where Lanancuras' body had been there was – incredibly enough – a lake. They were standing over a newborn oasis, and around them Enterra's broken surface healed before their very eyes.

"But Yakumo said it'll take years," said Kutall, awed.

Melissa huffed. "Obviously."

Emma turned around in Sago's arms, offering Kutall a smile. "Obviously," she agreed, and explained: "Phoenixes."

* * *

Melissa offered to return them to the base under the mountains, but they refused. The did accept the offer of a shortcut to the oasis below, rather than hiking down the cliffs in the dark.

The others showed up through the night. Karone with power still shining in her eyes and Caris, now looking at her with awe rather than hostility; Tommy and Kat with the other Rangers as well Franken, Gyasa and Daku's heir, all of them with fresh injuries and involved in a rapid discussion until sweet air of the oasis made them fall silent and look around them; and lastly Shiera and Carlos, holding the four kids between them.

The kittens ran to their uncle, high childish voices loud and clear and unburdened by the weariness of the adults surrounding them and then, finally, Sago felt that it was over.

They had won.

The world he, Kutall, Mushra and Yakumo had set out from no longer exist; would no longer come to pass, even. Instead, a new world would evolve, where perhaps Humans and Enterrans will learn to coexist, even if it will take a very long time for the two people to consider each other the sibling species that they were. A world with safe roads and no tyranny. A world where a little girl will not wake up alone, hundreds of years after her time and with the weight of the world on her slim shoulder…

A world Yakumo would watch over but never set foot in. A world without Mushra.

Sago bowed his head and turned his face aside as his vision blurred.

Emma touched his chin, made him turn to face her. "Tears are sacred," she told him gently. "Let them fall. Don't be ashamed of crying."

I don't want to bring pain to here, he wanted to tell her, but when he opened his mouth to say so no words would come out, and the first tears slid down his cheek and unto the ground.

Emma looked down and smiled. "Look," she said.

Where his tears touched the ground, tender white flowers rose like the first offering of peace.

He had no words, so he bent forward and kissed her.

* * *

_Within a year a memorial was erected in the oasis crater, the figures of two figures hand in hand, flying upwards to the stars, a man and a woman, an Enterran and a Human, both of them young and full of hope. Every year a memorial would be held there, speeches spoken and prayers led, and later, at dusk, those who had fought that day would come and their children with them, with picnic baskets and laughter, so that life may be celebrated alongside with memory._

_The first year Sago and Emma already brought their month-old firstborn daughter with them, her eyes green and blue like the ocean and her smile like the cousin she had been named for; and a leaf that fell from a tree was caught by a late, red ray of sunlight, and a clear crystal hanging from a golden chain fell into little Yakumo's hand, Guardians' gift._

_With each passing year more people would want to come to the service and so another site was erected on top of one of the surrounding cliffs, so that the peace of the Valley of Rebirth – as it came to be known – would not be disturbed. Some called it simply the White Temple, and others called it the Temple of Light or the Temple of Peace._

_Five hundred years later, at the grand ceremony marking time's full circle, the priestess at the Temple – of mixed blood, like most of Enterra's population by then – still wore a crystal leaf pendant, hanging from a necklace woven of fire._


End file.
